The Dame’s New Clothes: Is Tracey Emin Really the Next Turner?
Most people are familiar with Hans Christian Andersen’s fable The Emperor’s New Clothes—or, as it's often called today, The King’s New Clothes. The story illustrates the power of illusion and arrogance, where belief in something is sustained simply because people are too afraid to admit the truth: that nothing is there at all.
For the past thirty years, the art world has tried to convince us that Tracey Emin is as great an artist as J.M.W. Turner. Repeatedly told this—without question, and with no shortage of fanfare—many have accepted it as fact. But should we?
Art or Illusion? The Emperor’s New Clothes Revisited
The premise of Andersen’s story feels eerily familiar when looking at how modern conceptual artists are elevated to legendary status. The art establishment, major galleries, and elite critics collectively reinforce the illusion—until the illusion itself becomes reality.
It begs the question: Does repetition create truth? Or are we just afraid to call it out?
A master of light, landscape, and composition, Turner remains one of Britain’s greatest artists. What does Emin have to offer alongside him?
Tracey Emin’s Rise: Shock Value Over Substance?
Emin was never an artist in any meaningful sense. At the turn of the century, while a student at Maidstone School of Art, she caught the attention of Saatchi & Saatchi, not for her artistic talent but for her provocative takes on sex and personal experiences, which she claimed as art.
This notoriety propelled her into major galleries and secured her an appointment as Professor of Drawing at the Royal Academy—a role that raises an obvious question:
🖊️ Did she ever even know what a pencil was?
For decades, one might have expected that maturity and experience would bring artistic evolution, that if there were any real talent, it would eventually emerge. Yet, even in 2024, Emin continues to peddle the same sordid subject matter, as seen in her latest exhibition at London’s White Cube Gallery.
Turner vs. Emin: A Master and a Pretender?
💡 J.M.W. Turner:
✔ A visionary of light and movement
✔ A master of watercolour and oil painting techniques
✔ A painter who revolutionized landscape art
💡 Tracey Emin:
✔ Notorious for ‘My Bed’ and ‘Everyone I Have Ever Slept With’
✔ Focuses on autobiographical storytelling rather than technical mastery
✔ Celebrated for shock value, not artistic skill
The Turner 250th Anniversary should be a moment to celebrate the depth, technical ability, and lasting impact of a true master. Instead, the art world insists on inserting a contemporary "voice" into the conversation—even when that voice lacks technical ability and artistic merit.
The Art World’s Great Illusion: What Are We Really Seeing?
In a world where major galleries control artistic narratives, the question becomes:
🖼️ Is this about artistic excellence, or simply about playing the game?
If Emin had truly mastered drawing, composition, or painting, it would have become apparent by now. Instead, her presence in these exhibitions serves as a reminder of how the establishment props up artists based on notoriety rather than skill.
The True Test of Time: Does Emin’s Work Hold Up?
Unlike Turner’s works, which continue to be studied, admired, and referenced in contemporary art and academia, Emin’s work exists in a bubble of artificially inflated importance. The true test of artistic longevity is not hype—it’s whether the work still resonates and holds artistic value decades later.
The Yale-sponsored Turner & Emin exhibition is yet another example of the art world dressing up nothingness as genius. Emin’s work may be culturally provocative, but that does not equate to artistic mastery.
The Dame, it seems, is standing in her new clothes. And just like in Andersen’s tale—there’s nothing there at all.
Cover image: credited to OpenAI
The Dame’s New Clothes: Is Tracey Emin Really the Next Turner?