Hannah Barton

Grayson Perry, dressed as Claire, colorfully took to the stage in a quilted dress and blouse made from his Liberty prints. The outfit was adorned with bells, curl-toe shoes and a doll in matching ensemble. In contrast, a rakish Self, in black drainpipes, black shirt and black leather jacket looked like a Tim Burton character. In a good way.

Since Claire was present, the first few minutes were given to Self's enquiries as to how Perry's female alter ego became part of his art, as opposed to a functional fetishistic femme persona. Perry suggests that as a famous transvestite he is indulged with more freedom and is no longer an 'anonymous pervert', and that perhaps he reflects the younger generation of transvestites in that sense, whose fetish no longer needs a covert institution.

This is all very interesting and at the risk of getting carried away, Perry urges Self to address his practice.

The beauty of Perry's work is discussed first.

As his use of decorative devices is in line with the traditions of ceramics, the exploration of why Perry as an artist (rather than a craftsman) is drawn to his chosen discipline is pertinent. The hands-on approach required of ceramics must be meaningful to his practice as a whole, since ceramics are artefactural; physical objects grown out of thinking with hands as well as mind. Therefore rather than questioning what makes art, Perry is asking what makes good art. His query is based in his demonstrative skills.

In relation to the craft based nature of his work, it occurs to me to question the audience demographic- it is around 80% women with the majority in an older age bracket. Why has Perry appealed to this group? One lady at the Q&A says she hopes that Perry makes craft more popular and revered in the UK and I suspect that a wide swathe of the audience her might agree with her. Perry looks slightly shocked and explains that he believes craft as a movement to be somewhat redundant. His work is actually demonstrating that it is Art that makes craft relevant.

If anything, he hopes that he may empower other people to 'make' things as a reaction against consumerism. Referencing the 'Walthamstow Tapestry', Perry discusses this recurrent theme in his art - as an artist who seems to filter culture through him and into his work, it is clear that he feels consumerism enveloping our lives.

Therefore his choice to use craft, and to not divorce skill and concept within his practice, can be seen as a kind of protest; a championing individuality within the occasionally anonymous aspects of contemporary art and culture.