Pickled cows, elephant dung paintings and a transvestite potter: the Turner Prize deserves its reputation as one of art's most controversial awards. Now you can decide for yourself if the prize rewards pretentious twaddle or cutting edge British art.

The Turner enrages traditionalists who argue that it is a travesty of modern art, but the show attracts up to 120,000 visitors a year intrigued to see what all the fuss is about. In 1995, the "Bad Boy" of British contemporary art Damien Hirst won with a pickled cow. In 2003, transvestite potter Grayson Perry wore a frilly Shirley Temple dress to accept his award. Chris Ofili used elephant dung to adorn his 1998 winning entries.

But is it art? The debate has raged ever since the Turner was first awarded in 1984, although one thing critics can agree on is that the prize deserved full marks for putting contemporary art in the centre of public discussion. Here, MSN UK News has assembled a gallery of past Turner Prize entries. But are they pretentious twaddle or cutting edge art? You be the judge…