You can't win! If the think the whole concept is naff then you miss the point and have little artisctic persuasion. If you think its good, you either need help or you are one a small group of people who smile each morning upon waking . A fool and his money......

Mac, Wirral,

I totally concur with the first comment - this is emperor's clothes and some. It defies belief that seemingly intelligent people entertain the vapid verbal traces that art commentators and critics spew forth, largely too insecure to defy the imperatives of the art world. We should ask the artful word-smith A. A. Gill to pour some of his vitriol over the debate, at least enough to dowse the flames of mediocrity that emanate shamelessly from the backside of a faux bear. As for the remark - “it combines a bold political statement with art’s ability to articulate fundamental human truths”. - calm down mate! it's hardly Ruskin.

chris, aberdeen, Scotland

I thought Dom Jolly came up with this idea for Trigger Happy TV?

Matt, Oxford,

Why did he win with the bear if he was nominated for State Briton?!

The whole bear thing was fresh and funnier when Dom Jolly did it years ago anyway.

The judges are probably blissfully unaware of such low brow TV however.

Jonathan, Farnham, UK

Again, the clueless handing cash ofver to the talentless. Its what makes Britain NOT Great.

Mark, Wakefield, UK

This idea is no way creatively original. My eight year old has been dressing up as a bear transforming the space in our lounge for a year or two now. The space more often than not needs to be transformed back to its original state by his parents.

albie, london,

This just calls into question the Turner Prize. If this winning entry was the best entry, then possibly great artists are not entering? Certainly this winning entry will put great artists off entering in future, and could even depress them into giving up Art completely. I am not an artist but it infuriates me how societies don't take care of their Art nor their artists, shame on you Turner judges.

ruth keats, manchester, UK

I'm as yet undecided on this one. However, a few thoughts ...

What's are the differences & simularities of a man / woman walking around the gallery, and, a bear / man donning a bear costume, doing the same?

Could this be a comment on Identity?

The various masks & costumes we wear;; the way we present ourselves;; the things we assume of each other based on these things; the coveting of woman in Islamic culture maybe?; our attempt to figure out what another person or country is doing, with only a relatively limited view to do so, in this case the gallery window ; perhaps the question of should the bear character - representative of anyone other than ourselves, or maybe ourselves -- be doing anything in particular? Is there a point to our existence on earth? If so, is it universal?? Questions ad infintum...

Turner Prize is a hella lot of money, & thus there is a long list of factors they consider before choosing that holding deeper meanings , we must keep an open mind..

Tiggy, Cambridge,

Sirs,
Please accept this as my formal submission for entry into the 2008 Turner Prize.My intention is that through out the year I will be painting the inside of my house which is intended to 'transform my space'.For those of a none artistic nature may I point out similarities and parrallels to other artists and artistic venues.Firstly like Michelangelo I to will be painting not one but a number of ceilings.My house is directly linked to every yes evey gallery in the world by virtue of the fact that it to has both doors and windows. And they say care in the community does not work,the Turner Prize proves that wrong every year.

stuart firth, doncaster,

The question to ask shouldn't be "is it art?". If it's creator thinks it's art, then it's art. The question we should be asking is "is it any good?", to which the answer to anyone with two brain cells to rub together is clearly "no".

Matthew, Ringwood, UK

He should stay well clear of Sudan.

David Masu, Zürich,

Further confirmation that the cascade effect continues to rule the art world. "Where the overwhelming majority share in collective ignorance of the obvious despite individually recognising the absurdity." As in Hans Christian Anderson's fable of the Emperor's or King's new clothes

peter Fieldman, paris, france

Well, he's no Wally if he can get £25,000 for that. I don't think it quite ranks with the Sistine Chapel. Still, who knows, maybe a few centuries from now people will be marvelling at the video.

Billy Bud, Perth, Australia

exactly what has this to do with art? and more to the point what exactly were the judges smoking prior to awarding this?

jay, cardiff,

"Articulating fundamental human truths..." One can forgive the awarding of prizes to junk - good luck to the recipients who pull it off - but not the pompous highfaluting rhetoric that obligatarily accompanies it. It's the same with the Nobel Literature Prize - the more high-flown the accolade, the more tediously politically-correct the lauded opus turns out to be... There should be a prize, like the Bad Sex Prize, that crowns the most preposterous piece of art- or lit.-crit. uttered in the previous 12 months!

JF, Canterbury, UK

I wonder if the idea of such 'art' is that by concentrating praise on things that ordinary folks find pointless and uninspiring, the cliques can kid themselves that they are better than the masses who 'don't get it'.

Like 'transforming spaces' - what does that really mean, really. Its a horrendously vague concept that does not convey worth, you can 'transform space' by installing furniture or throwing in a grenade - we all can do it, no great skill involved. Its a shallow attempt to mystify something that cannot have comparative worth next to the work of a talented painter who can create something beyond the ability of the majority. Yet, works of 'conventional art' that can impress with their beauty or capture a moment or thought are looked down on as prosaic whilst coloured dots on a page are 'inspired'

By all means, if bear suits are your thing have fun, but peeps shouldn't pretend its anything more than a lark anyone could pull off, mediocre compared to a lot on youtube or tv

Bradley, Blackpool,

It would have only been a work of art if the bear had been named Mohammed.

david

David Chorley, Tulsa, oklahoma USA

Yes, bears seem to be the theme of the day. I guess we can all grin and bear it !!

Marie, London,

or donate it to Libearty. What an appaling travesty of itself the Turner prize has become. This is even less than fickle.

Patrick, The hague, Netherlands

Daft Punk did something similar for their "Da Funk" video in 1996, which featured a man in a dog-head costume wandering the city streets. If conceptual art is about coming up with something new, this bear costume piece seems to me rather lame. There is nothing wrong with conceptual art in principle; the problem is that most concepetual artists aren't bright enough to come up with any intelligent concepts.

Tom Miller, Beijing,

There was a very similar comedy sketch in a 2006 BBC 3 comedy called Snuff Box. One of the characters attends a sleep clinic and is spotted on CCTV walking around his bedroom in a bear suit. No doubt a concomitant coincidence.

Jack, Whetsted,

This is a bit dull. Perhaps he should have called the bear Mohammed.

JLS, London, UK

The wonderfully talented and mature artist Mark Wallinger seems to be very good at observing. His bear project is not new and he should donate the £ 25.000 prize money he received to Brian Haw whose ideas,slogans and placards he copied.

Adrian, London, UK