Grayson Perry is giving a series of lectures at the Tate
modern on the theme of art. These are called the Reich Lectures and are currently being broadcast on BBC radio 4. Through these lectures Perry is hoping to answer questions in relation to art, in the hope that he can help people understand and appreciate art by giving them the knowledge required. He is a practising artist which he feels means that because he has knowledge of creating art, he can use this experience in his response to answering the questions in his series of lectures.
Democracy Has Bad Taste
Art is popular but it can be seen as intimidating to the general public, especially
the language which is used to describe it. The issue which Grayson Perry is looking at in this first lecture is quality of art – how to tell if something is good, and who tells us that it
is good. Also on what criteria is it the artwork judged?
According to Perry judging on aesthetic merit is buying into society. This is because beauty is a construct. It is not something which can be measured but instead, it is based on an opinion which we have already and could be seen to be based on familiarity.
'to say that something is not beautiful is to put the wrong criteria on it' This is saying that everything has its merits, just because it may not conform to one set of beliefs does not mean that it should be overlooked.
'Art for arts sake' is a phrase often used, however it is always tied to money and so this may not be possible.
Art should be judged as luxury goods.
Who validates artwork? This could be critics, other artists, teachers or the media. They all have a consensus about what is good artwork. But it is the curators who hold the most power as it is they who choose what to display together.
Without validation, all that is left is popularity. This leads to Grayson's title of the lecture ,which is 'democracy has bad taste'. He is saying that just because something is popular, doesn't mean that it is good art.
I think that this was an interesting lecture. Grayson discusses the issue in a light-hearted way which makes it more interesting to listen to. He made points which I hadn't considered before which has made me think more about the art world and how it works.
He hasn't come to a definite conclusion. I think this shows that there isn't a true answer. Things can be interpreted in different ways and it just depends on how you choose to see it.
Perry, G. (2013) Democracy has bad taste. [Radio series episode]. The Reith Lectures - Grayson Perry: Playing to the Gallery: 2013. London: BBC Radio 4.
'to say that something is not beautiful is to put the wrong criteria on it' This is saying that everything has its merits, just because it may not conform to one set of beliefs does not mean that it should be overlooked.
'Art for arts sake' is a phrase often used, however it is always tied to money and so this may not be possible.
Art should be judged as luxury goods.
Who validates artwork? This could be critics, other artists, teachers or the media. They all have a consensus about what is good artwork. But it is the curators who hold the most power as it is they who choose what to display together.
Without validation, all that is left is popularity. This leads to Grayson's title of the lecture ,which is 'democracy has bad taste'. He is saying that just because something is popular, doesn't mean that it is good art.
I think that this was an interesting lecture. Grayson discusses the issue in a light-hearted way which makes it more interesting to listen to. He made points which I hadn't considered before which has made me think more about the art world and how it works.
He hasn't come to a definite conclusion. I think this shows that there isn't a true answer. Things can be interpreted in different ways and it just depends on how you choose to see it.
Perry, G. (2013) Democracy has bad taste. [Radio series episode]. The Reith Lectures - Grayson Perry: Playing to the Gallery: 2013. London: BBC Radio 4.
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