When one of Wearing's winning pieces was allegedly plagiarised in an advertisement for Sky TV, she threatened court action but the ensuing furore lead to a major offer of work from Levi's, which she is now in a position to consider. The moral of this story is read by some commentators as publicity. What is applauded is notoriety rather than quality and the Turner Prize is only worth as much as the controversy it produces. Certainly, the size of the reward rarely correlates with the prestige it generates. France's coveted Prix Goncourt bestows a mere 50 francs on its annual winner, barely enough for a celebratory coffee and croissant.
Financial reward takes longer.
People don't realise that the shortlisted books, almost without exception, immediately go on to sell all sorts of paperback and foreign rights. And the effect lasts a good many years. But the public relations machine working to make the Turner Prize visible is so powerful, believes David Lee, that the shortlist naturally favours artists such as Chris Ofili, last year's winner, whose elephant dung painting of the Virgin Mary attracted the wrath of New York's mayor, Rudolph Giuliani. Those most likely to generate media coverage and, therefore, to do well in the aftermath. Bad Sex Awards, is similarly dismissive of book gongs.