One of the things you will gradually (and probably resignedly) get used to on this blog, is my constant obsession with anything to do with Turner Prize winning Artist and potter extraordinaire, Grayson Perry. I would easily state without any qualms, that he is my favourite living artist. Humour and intelligence abound in his work, and his aesthetic vision is immediately identifiable to people that don't often concern themselves with what's happening in the British Art world. I particularly loved his recent TV program about the concept of taste within modern society. This is a subject that is close to my heart, and one which I have written about time and time again. Probably my similar obsession with what constitutes good or bad taste, like Perry, gravitates from a love of kitsch and its joyful embrace and acceptance of bad taste, transforming it into something much loved, rather than something to be discarded and thrown away. I will always love Perry for producing and and presenting one of the best tv programs on art that I've ever seen, and for providing a better discourse on taste than you will ever find in any dusty old textbook.
Another recent program shows Perry designing an incredible house in Essex. The architecture and design of the building gravitates around the concept of a fictitious "everywoman" named Julie, whose untold story of failed female ambition adorns every nook and cranny of the house. I would love to visit the Living Architecture House for Essex that Perry created, or buy some of his work, however my budget for such things might be a bit of an impediment! But, alas, there is something fantastically wonderful on the market for Grayson fans with mere mortal sized wallets; witness the below scarf from Tate Modern. This perfectly designed square of silk references scarves distributed during the second world war to help escaped pilots find their way around alien territory. Perry's own take however, is a "social and cultural map to help aspiring artists navigate the hostile territory on their way to being accepted by the establishment". Super chic, razor sharp and available from the always brilliant Tate Online Shop.
Another recent program shows Perry designing an incredible house in Essex. The architecture and design of the building gravitates around the concept of a fictitious "everywoman" named Julie, whose untold story of failed female ambition adorns every nook and cranny of the house. I would love to visit the Living Architecture House for Essex that Perry created, or buy some of his work, however my budget for such things might be a bit of an impediment! But, alas, there is something fantastically wonderful on the market for Grayson fans with mere mortal sized wallets; witness the below scarf from Tate Modern. This perfectly designed square of silk references scarves distributed during the second world war to help escaped pilots find their way around alien territory. Perry's own take however, is a "social and cultural map to help aspiring artists navigate the hostile territory on their way to being accepted by the establishment". Super chic, razor sharp and available from the always brilliant Tate Online Shop.
