i looked up grayson perry on wiki to see what he's up to these days, and discovered that through our quaint and anachronistic "honours" system he is now a CBE (commander of the most excellent order of the british empire - which is only one step from a knighthood btw). so did he get that award (which is still much-treasured and desired by many in this country) for services to cross-dressing?
Grayson Perry is fascinating. His TV series are worth finding, he's done a brilliant one on masculinity and another on taste and class. If you haven't, read his autobiography 'portrait of the artist as a little girl'.
I've read Grayson Perry's autobiography. He's one of England's most famous clay artists. He also marches to his own drummer. Take a look at some of his work: https://www.saatchigallery.com/artist/grayson_perry
We all grow older, and I'm thinking about destroying all my mirrors. Here's a link to a younger photo of Claire (Perry's alter ego) with her own hair. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Grayson-Perry There are photos of a young and pretty Claire in the autobiography. No wonder Grayson crossdressed.
at the risk of putting the cat amongst the pigeons, my view is that grayson perry's garish and eccentric style of crossdressing is actually not too far removed from the "clowns in gowns" that were debated on this blog recently. our paths happened to cross at a private trans event just before his star went into the stratosphere, and he was dressed not as a "little girl" or some kind of swinging sixties throwback like in the above pic, but as a (very convincing) stylish mature woman about to go off on an afternoon shopping trip (which was actually the case btw)
however, i suppose if one doesn't want to disappear after one's 15 minutes of fame, it probably helps to constantly shock and go over-the-top in any way possible in order to keep one's self in the public eye?
I haven't seen any of Perry's shows, but from what I've read and seen he's a very serious and highly respected artist. From the photos, his work is very, very good. He found Claire when he was young (or did she find him?) and the early photographs show a lovely young lady. Some of those photos show a sort of artsy dressed Claire, but not the, "Oh, everyone. look at me", we see in later photos, a sort of combination of over-the-top artsy and drag queen combination. But as Gina and Penny told us, Claire can be dressed to blend in or to be toned-down elegant when she wants to. I think Perry makes most of the costumes he wears to shows. He's a talented guy!
I have to agree with both Joanna Cole and Gina. Grayson Perry is a very thoughtful broadcaster. His series are always well worth watching. On the other hand, his performances as Claire are in clown in a gown territory. He can do much better, as he did when he went to Buckingham Palace in a very nice mother of the bride outfit. Penny from Edinburgh.
i looked up grayson perry on wiki to see what he's up to these days, and discovered that through our quaint and anachronistic "honours" system he is now a CBE (commander of the most excellent order of the british empire - which is only one step from a knighthood btw). so did he get that award (which is still much-treasured and desired by many in this country) for services to cross-dressing?
ReplyDeleteNot for crossdressing, but for services to contemporary art. However, he did dress en femme when he received the award from Prince Charles.
DeleteGrayson Perry is fascinating. His TV series are worth finding, he's done a brilliant one on masculinity and another on taste and class. If you haven't, read his autobiography 'portrait of the artist as a little girl'.
ReplyDeleteI've read Grayson Perry's autobiography. He's one of England's most famous clay artists. He also marches to his own drummer. Take a look at some of his work: https://www.saatchigallery.com/artist/grayson_perry
ReplyDeleteWe all grow older, and I'm thinking about destroying all my mirrors. Here's a link to a younger photo of Claire (Perry's alter ego) with her own hair. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Grayson-Perry There are photos of a young and pretty Claire in the autobiography. No wonder Grayson crossdressed.
at the risk of putting the cat amongst the pigeons, my view is that grayson perry's garish and eccentric style of crossdressing is actually not too far removed from the "clowns in gowns" that were debated on this blog recently. our paths happened to cross at a private trans event just before his star went into the stratosphere, and he was dressed not as a "little girl" or some kind of swinging sixties throwback like in the above pic, but as a (very convincing) stylish mature woman about to go off on an afternoon shopping trip (which was actually the case btw)
ReplyDeletehowever, i suppose if one doesn't want to disappear after one's 15 minutes of fame, it probably helps to constantly shock and go over-the-top in any way possible in order to keep one's self in the public eye?
I haven't seen any of Perry's shows, but from what I've read and seen he's a very serious and highly respected artist. From the photos, his work is very, very good. He found Claire when he was young (or did she find him?) and the early photographs show a lovely young lady. Some of those photos show a sort of artsy dressed Claire, but not the, "Oh, everyone. look at me", we see in later photos, a sort of combination of over-the-top artsy and drag queen combination. But as Gina and Penny told us, Claire can be dressed to blend in or to be toned-down elegant when she wants to. I think Perry makes most of the costumes he wears to shows. He's a talented guy!
DeleteI have to agree with both Joanna Cole and Gina. Grayson Perry is a very thoughtful broadcaster. His series are always well worth watching. On the other hand, his performances as Claire are in clown in a gown territory. He can do much better, as he did when he went to Buckingham Palace in a very nice mother of the bride outfit.
ReplyDeletePenny from Edinburgh.