Welcome back to artfirst. You find me today in the BP lecture theatre at the British Museum listening to the assistant curator of the Grayson Perry exhibition called the 'Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman'. The assistant curator is very nervous and clearly not use to public speaking as she is speaking at a rapid rate and finding it somewhat difficult to catch her breath. We are looking at images of some of Grayson's work and some images of the works from the BM's collection that have influenced and inspired Grayson. Including Grayson's tapestries such as 'Map of Truths and Beliefs' and Benin bronzes. The overall theme of the exhibition is that of pilgrimage and similarities between ancient and modern beliefs. The culmination of the exhibition is the 'Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman' itself, which manifests itself as a large cast iron sculpture by Grayson of a sailing ship that is rusted to give it an appearance of an ancient object.
It is but a short walk from the BP lecture theatre to the exhibition itself, where I find myself now for this private view of the exhibition in question. As I walk around this exhibition of the 'Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman' it is clear that Grayson embarks on a spiritual pilgrimage. It is a pilgrimage that is both physical, as in his journey to Germany on his custom made motorbike, (that features outside the exhibition as you go in) imaginary, as in his recollections of childhood, and virtual as he scours the vaults of the British Museum's treasure trove of objects to bring 16th century German vases into contact with his own vases. This Grayson Perry exhibition, here at the BM, has been an introduction into the life and world of an artist who has some how managed. To combine an intelligent art historical approach to the combination of works that make up the exhibition, while also acknowledging that he's not a historian,with a child-like openness that allows the viewer into his world of the benign dictator Alan Measles (Grayson's very ancient teddy bear he has had since childhood). Grayson's force of personality draws the viewer into the utterly believable world of his teddy bear Alan Measles creating a modern myth that draws on ancient traditions of story telling.
The juxtaposition of ancient and modern in Grayson Perry's 'Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman', brings alive objects from our shared and collective past histories and reminds us that fundamentally we have changed little over millennia, indeed there is nothing new under sun. A must see exhibition, British Museum 6th October 2011-19th February.
It is but a short walk from the BP lecture theatre to the exhibition itself, where I find myself now for this private view of the exhibition in question. As I walk around this exhibition of the 'Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman' it is clear that Grayson embarks on a spiritual pilgrimage. It is a pilgrimage that is both physical, as in his journey to Germany on his custom made motorbike, (that features outside the exhibition as you go in) imaginary, as in his recollections of childhood, and virtual as he scours the vaults of the British Museum's treasure trove of objects to bring 16th century German vases into contact with his own vases. This Grayson Perry exhibition, here at the BM, has been an introduction into the life and world of an artist who has some how managed. To combine an intelligent art historical approach to the combination of works that make up the exhibition, while also acknowledging that he's not a historian,with a child-like openness that allows the viewer into his world of the benign dictator Alan Measles (Grayson's very ancient teddy bear he has had since childhood). Grayson's force of personality draws the viewer into the utterly believable world of his teddy bear Alan Measles creating a modern myth that draws on ancient traditions of story telling.
The juxtaposition of ancient and modern in Grayson Perry's 'Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman', brings alive objects from our shared and collective past histories and reminds us that fundamentally we have changed little over millennia, indeed there is nothing new under sun. A must see exhibition, British Museum 6th October 2011-19th February.
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