Turner prize shows off the art of controversy (again)

A graphic retelling of a pornographic film written in shocking pink letters and a sexual fantasy described in the artist's own handwriting will furnish the scandal to this year's £20,000 Turner prize.

As entries from the four finalists go on show at the Tate Britain today, visitors will be warned that the work of the artist in question, Fiona Banner, contains strong and shocking language. But for admirers of the 36-year-old, it is merely the latest in a series of pieces dealing with language and its punctuation – such as the giant black spheres representing full stops also on display.

Katharine Stout, a Tate curator, insists that Banner's inclusion is not merely to provide the competition's annual shock headline. "She is not in the Turner prize because she is making controversial works. The independent jury thinks she's made one of the most significant contributions to British art in the past year," she said.

The jury of critics and gallery directors chaired by Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate, selects the shortlist of artists aged under 50 working in Britain. The prize, sponsored by Channel 4, is awarded on 8 December on the basis of the artists' works from the year including the exhibition, which may include new pieces.

Catherine Yass, 39, who was the bookies' favourite until the show was shown to the press yesterday, is known for back-lit photographs. But for her Turner prize bid, she has also turned to video. One film uses a remote-controlled helicopter to swoop around the BBC's Broadcasting House in London while another films the 240m (800ft) descent down a skyscraper in a mist-bound Canary Wharf in London.

Liam Gillick, 38, who also works as a writer and curator, is the most cerebral of the four. Under a glowing Perspex roof of different colours, enabling visitors to see the gallery's architecture, he displays drawings of his various other work, such as designs for an airport at Fort Lauderdale.

Keith Tyson, 33, is the only one not to have studied at Goldsmith's, the London art college that produced previous winners Damien Hirst, Rachel Whiteread and Chris Ofili. His diverse room includes fanciful drawings, colourful paintings and sculpture, notably a giant black block humming with hidden computers that was inspired by Rodin'sThe Thinker.

Ivan Massow, the former chairman of the Institute of Contemporary Arts who resigned after condemning much modern art as "craftless tat", said the exhibition seemed less conceptual than last year, when Martin Creed won with a light flashing on and off. He was severely critical only of Banner's work, which he said had been included merely to maintain the prize's controversial reputation. "Otherwise it will look like too much of a climbdown," he said.

A more sympathetic critic, Karen Wright, editor of Modern Painters magazine, said she thought it was a really good show. "It is better than it has been for a long time.

"I'm pleasantly surprised by Catherine Yass's work because it's not what we've seen before. Fiona's just there to shock, but just because she's a woman doesn't give her the privilege to talk about knobs. How are they going to keep kids out of that room? Liam's very pretty but boring. Keith is more of the same but it's great work. I put £50 on him at the bookies yesterday," she said.

William Hill made Tyson the 11-8 favourite to win yesterday after several big bets. "After the Booker prize winner's name was put up on a website a week before the winner was announced, we are very apprehensive of people placing substantial bets on artistic matters," a spokesman, Graham Sharpe, said.

In the last couple of years, the Turner prize has been criticised for having run its course in waving the flag for contemporary art in Britain.

Critics such as the so-called Stuckist campaigners, who condemn Sir Nicholas and the Tate for promoting conceptual art at the expense of more traditional art forms, were outside Tate Britain again yesterday to repeat their concerns.

But the prize has undoubtedly helped to boost interest in living artists and now attracts enormous audiences to the exhibition with queues snaking out through the gallery in the final days. And with rare exceptions, most of the artists chosen over the years have gone on to greater acclaim.

Stephen Deuchar, the director of Tate Britain, said he was keen that the prize was seen as "an annual forum for discussion". This year, visitors will be encouraged to leave their comments on special cards in the final room of the exhibition. The first, anonymous, contribution yesterday showed a note of dissent among the fans. "Wanted to fall in love. Wanted to hate something. But this selection leaves me cold," one wrote.

The Turner Prize show is open to the public from today until 5 January. Admission is £3.50.