on oct 29th the guggenheim inaugurates a new annual art event: artist rob pruitt presents the first annual art awards at the guggenheim, which will celebrates select individuals, exhibitions, and projects that have made a significant impact on the field of contemporary art during the past year. pruitt, whose conceptual practice is rooted in a pop sensibility and a playful critique of art world structures, has conceived the event as a performance-based artwork which follows the format of a hollywood awards ceremony. if this catches on though i wonder what effect it may have on remaining or supposed integrity left in the arts, now that film and music are watered down and massively focussed on award-for-funding-cycle, will fine art evolve in a similar fate? or will it open up a world occupied by those who contribute to those who would otherwise not be exposed?

here are the nominees for each category:

artist of the year
louise bourgeois
urs fischer
dan graham
mary heilmann

curator of the year
klaus biesenbach
daniel birnbaum
connie butler
massimiliano gioni

exhibition outside the united states
francis bacon, tate britain, london
jeff koons versailles, château de versailles, versailles
mike kelley: educational complex onwards: 1995–2008, wiels contemporary art centre, brussels
wolfgang tillmans: lighter, hamburger bahnhof, museum für gegenwart, berlin

group show of the year, gallery
“a twilight art,” harris lieberman, new york
“who’s afraid of jasper johns?” tony shafrazi gallery, new york
“your gold teeth ii,” marianne boesky gallery, new york
“zero in new york,” sperone westwater, new york

group show of the year, museum
“after nature,” new museum, new york
“the pictures generation, 1974–1984,” the metropolitan museum of art, new york
“the quick and the dead,” walker art center, minneapolis
“wack! art and the feminist revolution,” p.s. 1 contemporary art center, long island city, new york

new artist of the year
elad lassry
daniel mcdonald
marlo pascual
ryan trecartin

the rob pruitt award
to be announced the evening of oct. 29

solo show of the year, gallery
cindy sherman, metro pictures, new york
manzoni: a retrospective, gagosian gallery, new york
paul sharits, greene naftali gallery, new york
picasso: mosqueteros, gagosian gallery, new york

solo show of the year, museum
“dan graham: beyond,” the museum of contemporary art, los angeles, and whitney museum of american art, new york
“lawrence weiner: as far as the eye can see,” the museum of contemporary art, los angeles, and whitney museum of american art, new york
“live forever: elizabeth peyton,” new museum, new york
“martin kippenberger: the problem perspective,” the museum of contemporary art, los angeles and the museum of modern art, new york

writer of the year
tim griffin
john kelsey
walter robinson
jerry saltz

by kl