Tracey Emin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tracey Emin
|
|
|---|---|
Emin at Lighthouse Gala auction in aid of Terrence Higgins Trust, 2007
|
|
| Born |
Tracey Karima Emin
3 July 1963 Croydon, England
|
| Education |
|
|
Notable work
|
|
| Style |
|
| Movement |
|
Dame Tracey Karima Emin (born 3 July 1963) is a famous English artist. She is known for making art that tells stories about her own life and feelings. Tracey uses many different ways to create her art, like drawing, painting, sculptures, films, photos, neon signs, and sewn fabric pictures. She was once seen as a rebellious artist among the Young British Artists in the 1980s. Now, she is a respected member of the Royal Academy of Arts.
In 1999, Tracey Emin had her first art show in the United States. Later that year, she was nominated for the important Turner Prize. For this, she showed her artwork called My Bed. This was an art piece made from her own unmade bed.
Tracey Emin also gives talks and is a panelist. She has spoken at famous places like the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Tate Britain. She talks about how creativity and personal stories connect to art. In 2011, she became a Professor of Drawing at the Royal Academy. She and Fiona Rae were the first two women professors there since it started in 1768. Tracey Emin used to live in London but has moved back to Margate. There, she helps fund TKE Studios, which provides workspaces for new artists.
Contents
About Tracey Emin
Early Life and Learning
Tracey Emin was born in Croydon, a part of south London. Her mother was English, and her father was Turkish Cypriot. She grew up in Margate, Kent, with her twin brother, Paul.
She studied fashion design from 1980 to 1982 at Medway College of Design. There, she met artist Billy Childish. They were a couple until 1987. In 1984, she studied printing at Maidstone Art College. She earned a top degree in Printmaking.
In 1987, Emin moved to London. She studied at the Royal College of Art and earned a master's degree in painting in 1989. She was inspired by artists like Edvard Munch. For a while, she also studied philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London.
Starting Her Art Career
In 1993, Tracey Emin opened a shop called The Shop with another artist, Sarah Lucas. They sold their artworks there.
In November 1993, Emin had her first solo art show at White Cube gallery in London. It was called My Major Retrospective. This show was about her own life. It included personal photos and pictures of her early paintings that she had destroyed.
In 1995, Tracey Emin created her famous "Tent" artwork. It was a blue tent with the names of everyone she had been in a relationship with sewn onto it. This artwork was bought by Charles Saatchi. It was shown in the popular 1997 Sensation exhibition at the Royal Academy. Sadly, this tent was later destroyed in a fire in 2004.
Becoming Well-Known
Tracey Emin became widely known after appearing on a TV show in 1997. Two years later, in 1999, she was nominated for the Turner Prize. She showed her artwork My Bed at the Tate Gallery. This piece was her own unmade bed, surrounded by items from her bedroom. It caused a lot of discussion.
In 1999, Tracey Emin also made many drawings called monoprints. These were inspired by the life of Princess Diana. Some drawings showed Princess Diana helping others, like walking through a minefield. Others had texts about conspiracy theories surrounding her death. Emin said these drawings were "quite sentimental" and "nothing cynical."
Many famous people collect Tracey Emin's art. These include Elton John and George Michael. George Michael and his partner Kenny Goss even held an exhibition of Emin's work in 2007. Emin also created a special neon artwork for them called George Loves Kenny. Other supporters include models Jerry Hall and Naomi Campbell, and actor Orlando Bloom.
Tracey Emin became friends with Madonna and David Bowie. Madonna described Emin as "intelligent and wounded and not afraid to expose herself." Bowie called her "William Blake as a woman." Emin also made a unique neon artwork for her friend, supermodel Kate Moss, called Moss Kin.
Stuckism Movement
.jpg)
Tracey Emin's relationship with artist Billy Childish led to the name of the Stuckism art movement in 1999. Childish had criticized her new art style. Emin told him, "Your paintings are stuck, you are stuck! – Stuck! Stuck! Stuck!" This meant he was stuck in the past.
The Stuckist group's actions upset Emin. She said in 2003 that she found it "sick" and "very cruel." Childish later left the Stuckist movement in 2001.
Modern Art Oxford Exhibition (2002–03)
From November 2002 to January 2003, Tracey Emin had a solo exhibition called This Is Another Place at Modern Art Oxford. It was her first major British exhibition since 1997. The show included drawings, films, neon works, and sculptures. One large sculpture was a wooden pier with a shack on top, called Knowing My Enemy.
Momart Warehouse Fire (2004)
On May 24, 2004, a fire at a storage warehouse in East London destroyed many artworks. This included Emin's famous "Tent" (1995) and her wooden beach hut, The Last Thing I Said To You Is Don't Leave Me Here (1999). Emin was very upset by the public's lack of sympathy for the lost artworks.
Venice Biennale (2007)
In 2006, Tracey Emin was chosen to create a show for the British Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007. She was only the second woman to have a solo show for the UK there. Her exhibition was titled Borrowed Light. She created new works using needlework, photography, video, drawing, painting, sculpture, and neon.
Royal Academician (2007)
On March 29, 2007, Tracey Emin became a Royal Academician at the Royal Academy of Arts. This means she joined a special group of artists. As a member, she can show up to six artworks in the annual summer exhibition. In 2008, she was invited to help organize one of the galleries for the Summer Exhibition.
Art Retrospectives
In 2008, a big exhibition of Emin's work called Twenty Years was held in Edinburgh. It showed her art from early pieces to famous ones like My Bed. This exhibition broke records for a living artist at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Emin later gave a sculpture called Roman Standard (2005) to the gallery as a thank you.
Another major exhibition, Love Is What You Want, took place at London's Hayward Gallery in 2011. It showed many different types of her art, including new outdoor sculptures.
In 2020, Emin had a joint exhibition with works by Edvard Munch at the Royal Academy of Arts. It was called The Loneliness of the Soul. She chose 19 of Munch's pieces to display alongside 25 of her own. This exhibition later moved to the new Munch Museum in Oslo.
Tracey Emin's Artworks
Monoprints
Tracey Emin's monoprints are a key part of her art. These are unique drawings that often act like a diary. They show events from her past, like Poor Love (1999) or Sad Shower in New York (1995).
Her monoprints often combine text and images. Sometimes they have only text or only images. The text shows her thoughts flowing freely. Emin often misspells words, either on purpose or because she draws quickly. She once said, "If I could spell, then I would spell correctly, but I never bothered to learn. So, rather than be inhibited... I just write and get on with it."
A series from 1994 and 1995 called Illustrations from Memory shows her childhood memories in Margate. Another series, Family Suite, explores themes of her family and Margate. Emin's monoprints are usually shown together. They create a powerful feeling of strong emotions.
In 2009, Emin released a book called One Thousand Drawings. It contained 1000 drawings from her career since 1988.
Paintings
Emin showed six small watercolours in her Turner Prize exhibition in 1999. These were called the Berlin Watercolour series (1998). They were delicate and colorful portraits of Emin herself, painted in Berlin. The Tate museum noted that she included these to show that her art did include paintings.
In 2014, an art critic wrote about Emin's shift towards painting and sculpture. Even though she was a Professor of Drawing, she had been taking private lessons for years.
Photography
Tracey Emin has created many photographic works. Monument Valley (Grand Scale) (1995–97) shows her sitting in a chair in Monument Valley, holding her book Exploration of the Soul. She used this chair for readings during a trip across the United States.
Her self-portraits taken inside her beach hut, The Last Thing I Said To You Is Don't Leave Me Here I and II (2000), are very famous. They are often displayed and sold separately. The hut itself later became a sculpture.
Neon Art
Emin also works with neon lights. One piece is You Forgot To Kiss My Soul (2001), which shows these words in blue neon inside a heart shape.
For the Venice Biennale, she made new purple neon works like Legs I (2007). In 2010, she decorated the Foundling Museum with the neon words "Foundlings and fledglings are angels of this earth."
In 2018, Emin's largest neon artwork, I Want My Time With You, was displayed at London St Pancras Station. It hangs below the main clock. Emin said it was a message to Europe during the Brexit Crisis.
Fabric Art
Emin often uses fabric in her art, especially by sewing letters onto material. She collects fabric that has special meaning to her. Many of her large fabric pieces are made on hotel linens. Hate And Power Can Be A Terrible Thing (2004) is a large blanket inspired by women she dislikes.
One of her most famous fabric works is There's A Lot of Money in Chairs (1994). She sewed letters onto her grandmother's armchair. This chair was used during her trip across the United States, where she sewed the names of places she visited onto it.
In 2007, Emin created a flag with the message One Secret Is To Save Everything. It flew above the Jubilee Gardens in London. She called it "a flag made from wishful thinking."
Sculptures
In 2005, Emin's first public artwork, The Roman Standard, was displayed in Liverpool. It is a small bird perched on a tall bronze pole. It represents strength and femininity.
Other sculptures include Death Mask (2002), a bronze cast of her own head. At her 2007 Venice Biennale exhibition, she showed tall wooden towers and a small bronze sculpture of a child's pink sock.
In 2007, Emin was shortlisted to propose a sculpture for the fourth plinth in London's Trafalgar Square. Her idea was a life-size sculpture of four meerkats, called Something for the Future. She said meerkats symbolize unity and safety.
Emin's latest project is a 7-meter-tall bronze sculpture called The Mother. It will be unveiled outside the new Munch Museum in Oslo. It is a non-idealized depiction of a woman, seen as a feminist statement.
Films
Tracey Emin has made several films. Why I Never Became a Dancer (1995) is a short film about her early teenage years in Margate. It shows her school, the seaside, and shops. Emin narrates her story, starting with how she left school at 13. The film ends with her dancing in a studio, remembering a disco-dancing competition.
Selected Books by Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin has written several books about her life and art:
- Exploration of the Soul (1994): A short story about her life from birth to age 13.
- Strangeland (2005): Her memoir, telling her life story from childhood.
- One Thousand Drawings (2009): A collection of 1000 drawings from her career.
Tracey Emin and Feminism
Tracey Emin is one of only two women professors at London's Royal Academy of Arts since it began in 1768. In 2013, she was named one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom.
When asked if society values women artists enough, Emin replied, "No. Of course not. But it's changing slowly. We probably just need another 200 years." Emin considers herself a feminist, but not a "feminist artist."
Her 1998 installation My Bed is often discussed in relation to feminism. By showing her messy bed, she used a private, domestic space to challenge stereotypes.
Her Art is About Her Life
When studying art, Emin felt that making traditional paintings for rich people's homes was outdated. She wanted to create something completely new. She realized that her own life and experiences were more powerful than anything she could draw or paint. She said, "I realised that I was much better than anything I'd ever made."
Health Update
In 2020, Tracey Emin was diagnosed with bladder cancer. She had surgery to remove her bladder and other organs. This left her in remission. In 2023, she had complications from another operation and was hospitalized in Thailand.
Helping Others
Tracey Emin is well-known for her charity work. She has raised over a million pounds for children's charities like the NSPCC and for HIV/AIDS charities. She often donates her original artworks for charity auctions.
In 2007, she donated a hand-sewn blanket called Star Trek Voyager to Elton John's charity ball. It sold for £800,000. Her neon artwork Keep Me Safe also sold for over £60,000 for charity.
Emin has supported The Independent newspaper's Christmas Appeal for years. She has offered unique artworks or even drawing lessons with her. In 2006, a drawing lesson with her raised £14,000.
In 2008, Emin went to Uganda to set up the "Tracey Emin Library" at a rural school. She explained that schools there often don't have libraries. In 2008, she donated a red, heart-shaped neon artwork called I Promise To Love You for a charity auction. It sold for $220,000 to help women and children with HIV/AIDS in Africa.
In 2023, Tracey Emin opened TKE Studios in Margate. It provides affordable workspaces for artists and a free arts education program.
Political Views
Tracey Emin has expressed her views on politics. She has been a critic of high income tax rates in Britain. She has also stated that she is a royalist.
In 2010, she voted for the Conservative Party. She said she felt they were the "best government." She has also publicly supported saving a newsagent in East London from eviction. In 2014, she signed a letter hoping Scotland would remain part of the United Kingdom.
Awards and Recognition
In 2007, Tracey Emin was elected a Royal Academician. Four years later, she became a Professor of Drawing at the Royal Academy. The University of Kent also gave her an honorary doctorate in 2007.
In 2013, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her services to the arts. In 2022, she became an honorary freewoman of Margate. In 2024, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her contributions to art.
Art Market
Tracey Emin's main art galleries are White Cube in London, Lorcan O'Neill in Rome, and Xavier Hufkens in Brussels.
Her famous artwork My Bed (1998) was bought by Charles Saatchi for £150,000. In 2014, it was sold again at an auction for £2.5 million to Jay Jopling, the director of White Cube. Emin hoped it would be donated to the Tate museum.
Her neon artworks, which feature phrases in her own handwriting, are often sold at auctions. In 2011, British Prime Minister David Cameron had one of her neon artworks in his apartment at 10 Downing Street. In 2022, Emin asked for it to be removed.
In 2022, one of Emin's paintings, Like A Cloud of Blood, sold for £2,322,000. This set a new record price for a painting by her. The money went to the Tracey Emin Foundation to support TKE Studios.
Images for kids
-
"The Tent" (1995) by Tracey Emin
-
Portrait by Reginald Gray
-
Tracey Emin with Boris Johnson in 2010. Both are prominent Britons of Turkish heritage.
