posted on 29 Jan 2017

My Pretty Little Art Career by Grayson Perry

I suspect that the artist Grayson Perry is very close to becoming something of a media darling or being given that even more dreaded appellation, a National Treasure. For an artist who built his artistic credibility on the notion that he was an ‘outsider’, someone who didn’t conform to establishment norms – either social or artistic – this may seem to be something of a challenge in terms of his credibility.

However, I think the fact that this debate seems to occupy more space than that given to discussion about his actual artwork is a cause for regret. For me Perry is an intelligent and fascinatingly opinionated individual but it was his artwork – especially his audacious pottery – that first hooked me. The notion that the complex life of this complicated man could be documented on his beautifully made pots showed just how a potentially utilitarian household artefact could be turned into a legitimate art canvas.

I know that Perry has his critics and I suspect the more exposure he gets the more criticism he will draw. The fact that his public profile has shifted from his art to his identity – and his alternative female identity – is, I think, likely to draw more criticism. There are, no doubt, critics already lining up to claim that he is some kind of charlatan or an emperor without clothes.

Perhaps more importantly, there are those who have more thoughtful and legitimate criticisms of his output and, in particular, whether the art he produces is as deep and significant as he thinks it is. Setting out and documenting his own life is always open to the claim that what Perry sees as important and fascinating is seen by others as quite the opposite – or, perhaps even more damagingly, they just respond with indifference.

I see the power of that argument but I can’t go along with it. For me Perry’s artworks – not just his pottery but his drawing, needlework and collage – can be transcendently beautiful and extraordinarily powerful. This publication which was produced to accompany the exhibition mounted in Australia in 2015-16 proves the quality and range of his work. This is a magnificent catalogue/book and feels like it’s been designed to not just showcase Perry’s work but to also reflect the design values of the artist.

I stumbled on this in an Independent bookshop in Ledbury and I haven’t come across it elsewhere – so it may be quite hard to locate. It’s worth the effort though because if you think you might like his work or you need an introduction to the scope of what he’s capable of, this would be the book for you.

 

Terry Potter

January 2017