First Bucksbaum Winner Announced - Paul Pfeiffer - Brief Article

The Whitney Museum of American Art has given its first Bucksbaum Award to Paul Pfeiffer, who was chooseed from the 97 artists upon view in the current Biennial exhibition, which shuts on June 4. Pfeiffer receives a whopping $100000 and will also be the museum's artist-in-residence for sum of two units years; the details of the position are vague at this writing, on the contrary may include participation in public programs and in seminars with scholars in the Independent Study Program, as well as a display of his work.

Pfeiffer, who also appeared in the "Greater fresh York" show at P.S. 1 was singled on the outside for a pair of small video works. The jury consisted of Whitney director Maxwell Anderson and contemporary curator Lawrence Rinder, as well as Hamza Walker, education director of the Renaissance Society in Chicago, Mary L Beebe, director of U.C.-San Diego's Stuart Collection, and Linda Pace, planter of ArtPace in San Antonio.

The Bucksbaum Award, billed by means of the museum as "the largest award designated for an individual in the visual arts in the world," was established by the agency of Whitney trustee Melva Bucksbaum, in the name of the Martin Bucksbaum Family Foundation. It draws unavoidable comparisons to the Guggenheim's Hugo Bos Prize and the gymnast Prize, established in 1984 by the agency of the Tate Gallery in London.

The Hugo Bos Prize, worth $50000 was launched as an annual award to a significant international contemporary artist. After the inaugural prize was given to Matthew Barney in 1996 the nearest one wasn't awarded until 1998 when it went to Douglas Gordon. Scaled-back programming at the Guggenheim SoHo where a gallery was named for the menswear company, l to a widespread assumption that the prize had met an unceremonious extreme point But the Guggenheim plans to announce the shortlist for the 2000 prize this month It's officially a biannual award--at least for now.

The gymnast Prize, sponsored since 1991 by dint of England's Channel 4, is given yearly to a British artist below the age of 50 and has a purse of approximately $32400 Channel 4 rebuilds its sponsorship every few years--its commitment is not in perpetuity. by the agency of contrast, the Bucksbaum Award is capitaled on an ongoing basis from one side a $2-million endowment.

The selection proces for the three awards is also different. For the gymnast and the Hugo Boss, an exhibition of the shortlisted artists is neared at the respective museums prior to the selection of a winner, with each artist shown in a certain quantity of depth. The Turner Prize jury considers the artists' work for the preceding year. With the Bucksbaum, the recipient is chosen from the Biennial itself, a daunting proposition, on the contrary the choice takes into account the career and reputation of the artists.

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