The tastemakers - Rosie Millard

To the surprise of some and the outrage of many, the winner of the 2001 Turner Prize was Martin Creed's installation 'The Lights Going On and Off' -- a room in which, well, the lights go on and off. Rosie Millard, the BBC's Arts Correspondent, concluded her report about the prize-giving to the evening news by observing that one of the interesting things about the work was that it was 'art you could do at home'. As ever, the shop-front for modern art had lived up to its reputation for controversy. But, tellingly, the 2001 award was presented by none other than Madonna. How had a pop-culture icon infiltrated such a high-culture jamboree?
Modern British art, Rosie Millard concludes, *is* popular culture. From advertising to pop music, fashion to film, the BritArt/YBA (Young British Artist) phenomenon has moved art into the mainstream as never before. Her assessment of the movers and shakers from self-styled enfants terribles like Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin to gallery bigwigs like Nicholas Serota shows how this has come about, and where it's likely to lead us. Funny and revealing in equal measure, THE TASTEMAKERS is an essential primer for all those who don't know much about art, but who know what they like.