TAKEN FOR A RIDE

Channel 4 Direction/Camera

2007 Tate Media

 

An irreverent take on the 2007 Turner Prize, as seen through the eyes of a minicab driver invited into the Tate gallery for his first encounter with contemporary art.

 

'In the perfectily wonderful Taken for a Ride, he (Brian) drove us around Liverpool and told us why he'd decided to become an ambassador for the Turner Prize.....At Tate Liverpool, Simon the curator was at pains to explain the complexity, sagacity and general excellence of Nathan Coley's There Will Be No Miracles. In a break between adjectives, the director asked Brian what he thought of Simon's analysis." I think," he said carefully, peering at the the exhibit's tumble of lights, scaffolding and wires, "he's talking through his flaps." Miraculous.' The Guardian

 

'This charming little documentary introduced a Liverpudlian taxi driver called Brian and some of his passengers to modern art then asked for their opinions. "It's a load of b*****ks," said one of them who felt, reasonably enough, that an artwork should make him feel something and not depend upon a smart-alec curator telling him what it meant. Brian, however, overcame his initial scepticism and it was thrilling to see this stuff having an effect on him." The Telegraph