特那獎得主獲得 Nottingham Trent大學獎

Turner Prize Winner Scoops Nottingham Trent University Award

著名藝術家兼特那獎得主 Simon Starling成為Nottingham Trent大學的第一位年度最佳校友

Celebrated artist and Turner Prize recipient Simon Starling has become Nottingham Trent University's first-ever‘Alumnus of the Year.

The awards – launched in recognition of the vital role former students play in raising the University’s profile through their distinctive attainments, professional success and contributions to society – is in honour of Simon’s outstanding achievements on the arts scene.

這個為了表揚傑出校友對社會的優良貢獻所設立的獎項，表揚Simon在藝術界出色成就。

Simon, who graduated from Nottingham Trent University with a degree in photography in 1990, was selected from an impressive list of nominees. He will travel from Copenhagen to collect his award at the University’s November graduation ceremony.

1990年由Nottingham Trent大學攝影系畢業的Simon此次在多名角逐者中脫穎而出。他將專程由哥本哈根返回母校在11月的畢業典禮上受獎。

He has become one of the NTU’s most high-profile alumni since 2005 when he won the prestigious – and often controversial – Turner Prize. His seminal work, Shedboatshed, a wooden shed which he had dismantled, transformed into a boat, paddled down the Rhine and then rebuilt as a shed.

獲得聲望極高且偶有爭議性的特那獎，使他成為2005年至今Nottingham Trent大學最有名的校友。他的巨作－廠房船（Shedboatshed）是將一個木造廠房拆除改造成一艘船、在萊茵河行駛後再重新組合成廠房。

Simon said: “Winning this award is a complete surprise, but a very welcome one. I have been living outside Britain for some years now and it came as a bit of a shock that I was still on the map in Nottingham. I feel I was lucky to be part of an interesting group of people who studied photography there in the late 1980s.”

Simon說：獲得特那獎是一個完全的驚喜，令人非常高興的驚喜。我已經住在國外多年，很驚訝自己竟然在Nottingham還如此有名望。我有幸能在八零年代末期與一群有趣的人在那裡一起學習攝影。

He added: “Two of those people – Jeremy Millar and Will Bradley – have remained very important to me and have ended up working in related areas of art practice, but there are many others who brought so much to the table. That sense of importance of your peer group has very much affected the way I approach running my own class at the Art School in Frankfurt where I have been a professor for five years now.”

他並且說：其中的兩位Jeremy Millar和Will Bradley對我來說特別重要，我們仍在相關領域工作。不過其他還有許多有傑出貢獻的人。那種共同合作的精神深深影響我在已任教五年的法蘭克福的藝術學校的授課方式。

Simon has made his name as an artist fascinated by the processes involved in transforming one object or substance into another. In solo exhibitions worldwide, he has showcased installations and pilgrimage-like journeys highlighting ideas about nature, technology, economics, modernity and mass production.

Simon在藝術界相當有名，他熱中將一種物品或實體轉換成另一種實體的過程。在一個世界展覽中，他展示裝置藝術和朝聖之旅式的旅行，著重自然、科技、經濟、現代化和大量生產的構思。

Audiences are encouraged to consider the stories behind each construction and transformation – and the Turner Prize jury praised his ability to create “poetic narratives which draw together a wide range of cultural, political and historical references.”

他鼓勵觀眾去思考每個建造和轉變背後的故事。特那獎的評審稱讚他創造“如詩一般的敘事技巧，綜合文化、政治和歷史”的能力。

For his latest project Simon is about to return to Toronto to recover a steel copy of a Henry Moore sculpture from the bottom of Lake Ontario. He placed the sculpture in the water two years ago where it has played host to a growing colony of zebra mussels. This work will go on show at The Power Plant in Toronto in February 2008.

Simon最近的計畫是返回多倫多將他兩年前放到安大略湖底的 Henry Moore鋼鐵雕塑尋回。目前這個雕塑已經有大量斑馬貝寄生於上。這個作品將在2008年多倫多的The Power Plant展出。

Nominations for the Alumnus of the Year Award were invited from students, staff and graduates as well as employers, employees, colleagues, families and friends of Nottingham Trent University alumni.

Nottingham Trent大學歡迎學生、教職員、畢業生、畢業校友的雇主、同事、家人、朋友提名年度最佳校友的候選人。

Nottingham Trent University Alumni Officer, Clare Oswin, said: “The University is proud of all its alumni and we wanted to introduce this award to celebrate their success. We were delighted with the response we received.

Nottingham Trent大學校友會職員Clare Oswin說: 學校以所有的校友為榮。我們想以這個獎來慶祝他們的成功，也很高興得到熱烈的迴響。

"Simon is a fine example of someone whose work has made an outstanding contribution to the arts. It is great that he will be presented with this award at a degree ceremony so that our new alumni can be inspired by his achievements whatever career path they choose to follow."

"Simon是一個在藝術界有重大成就的良好範例。很高興他將在畢業典禮上受獎，這一定會對我們未來的校友產生極大的鼓舞，無論他們將來選擇的事業之路為何。"

Acclaimed designer Aran D Higgs – another Nottingham Trent University alumnus – has been commissioned to create the stunning steel trophy for the Alumnus of the Year Award.

名設計師Aran D Higgs –Nottingham Trent University的另一位校友 – 被委命打造此年度最佳校友獎的獎盃。

Aran, who studied Decorative Arts (2004) and his PGCE (2006) at the university, said: “I feel honoured that the University has approached me to design such a prestigious award, especially as it will be presented to eminent alumni like Simon Starling for years to come.”

2004年主修裝飾藝術並於2006年取得教育碩士證書的Aran說: 很榮幸我能夠為學校設計這麼特別的獎盃，頒發給像Simon Starling這樣的傑出校友，讓我感到非常光榮。

Also check out the Nottingham Trent University data sheet here.