The ARKEN Prize 2007

ARKEN PRIZE 2007

DONATED BY ANNIE & OTTO DETLEFS' PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION

On March 15 the British artist couple Tim Noble and Sue Webster received the ARKEN Prize of DKK 100,000.
The ARKEN Prize is their first art award.


From struggling artists to celebrity stars
Tim Noble (1966) and Sue Webster (1967) were struggling artists at the time in the 1990s when the Young British Artists (YBA) phenomenon emerged, turning its members into celebrity stars alongside actors and supermodels.

However, rather than being bowled over by art’s sudden success, Noble and Webster employed their art to parody their lauded colleagues and the hype which had arisen around the art.

A couple privately as well, today they are part of the hype themselves. In London their works sell in the six digits, their exploits at celebrity parties are reported about, etc. However, they have retained the unimpressed punk bugger off attitude.


Punk rock aesthetics
Noble and Webster deliberately employ trivial, kitschy and tawdry elements as a strategy for commenting on consumer culture, advertising and the artist’s role in society. With their very own punk rock aesthetics they take a staunchly critical attitude to modern society, exploring and commenting on what is human. Often with humour and unusual materials serving as their tools.

– Noble and Webster are awarded the ARKEN Prize because they challenge the status quo with great talent, humour and an innovative use of materials. This applies both to the traditional artist role and to society around them. They critique modern consumer culture but their humorous and unorthodox self-portraits also demonstrate that they are part of it, ARKEN’s director Christian Gether said in his speech at the award ceremony.

Noble & Webster are represented at The Saatchi Collection, London, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Museum of Modern Art, New York and Mora Foundation, Wien, a.o..


Read more about Noble & Webster

Noble & Webster in ARKEN's Collection
Facts about the ARKEN Prize