Reith Lecture 2013 Grayson Perry - Democracy Has Bad Taste. Just some notes

Reith Lectures

Marcel DuChamp – aesthetic delectation is the thing to be avoided.  The idea of beauty is a construct. Proust said we only see beauty when looking through an ornate gold frame. All we really want to take a photograph off on holiday is to recreate the picture we’ve seen in the brochure. Art? Beauty words result in a sucking of teeth. Victorian narrative paintings – why? Very English, social history, costumes, historical. Tried to justify them.

Grayson Perry said something that happens to me. When I like something off the social norm or style of the time I have to go through all sorts of contortions to justify why I like it. But then when things start to become popular or fashionable, suddenly I’m no longer kooky and it looks as if I’ve just jumped on the bandwagon of liking popular things.

Sceptical of finding an empirical way of finding a measure of quality.

Venetian Secret  - Titian etc had a formula for painting the ideal of beauty. A painter painted this formula but it was a hoax.

Formula had decent non-offensive idea. Time sit by the number of studios in existence divided by the number o art dealers. This gives the number of oligarchs and world art buyers. Ha ha ha

Art is an asset class. Big lump of cash on the wall. Or Art for Art’s sake.

Art will always be tied to money either state or market money.

You will never have a great art career unless your work fits in the elevator of an office block in New York!!

A big painting costs more than a small painting. Not necessarily because it’s better it’s just bigger.

Red paintings always sell best followed by white blue green black. But it’s also a red painting that’s been validated. But who validates? Who decides what is good art?

Artists teacher curators the media the public dealers etc. A consensus of good art.

An artists artist – Grayson Perry. Support from artists.

Worst review. “If I had a hammer” (Grayson Perry’s pots) His first review
I liked that he seemed unashamed that he doesn't make pots for poor people. He said they go for what they go for now and wuoed lots of mmoney. But added that you used to be able to get a pot for a weeks salary. That's the time to invest in art of course.

Kudos fro a heavy weight critic is a must not a weak one or a flipper i.e. someone who buys to sell on for more.

Good dealer brand – powerful effect on reputation and their former job of placing the art creates a buzz.

The public – mid-1990’s more media attention. Popularity is a dodgy quality. Celebrities are turned away by dealers. But if loads of people come to shows these days it’s measureable and also justifies the funding.

Museum quality? Validation at the top level is the curator. The Popes of art.

Power bound by a code of ethics. They cannot collect for themselves in the field they overlook in their life. The price of art goes up when Tate put on a show. So the curator could up the value of their own collections.

Academia may say it’s all too dry and heavy and so worthy. Or its so cheesy.

God help you if you’re popular.

Bestows upon the work a patterna – hums in conversation, and the reputation that passes through time.

Anointed at with quality that collects a patterna over time.

 

Language protects or condemns. Social views.

The magazine suffered of the wrong kind of readability.

Discourse and meta-discourse on what is said and what is not said. Etc etc. A wall text that did not mean very much at all.

A language analyser of the art English. It has a lack of nouns.

Visual becomes visuality. Potential becomes potentiality.

A metaphorical sea-sickness. Everyone wanted to seem serious about art.

The non-fluent may eel uneducated. And not able to express opinion because of not having the language.

Consumerism gets involved but art works are really a luxury good. Louis Vitton shop in the gallery selling bags within the art installation. They are luxury goods.

Art is an extension of the Ferrari and designer bag. Banks recognise the asset of art. Vault spaces for Silver Wine Art and Gold – SWAG

Participatory art – blind people in military uniform soliciting the crowd for sex.

Pop up Thai café

Quality is a contested word. Have to buy into the language of the elite.

It’s problematic to judge the work. Can’t say it’s dull but then told not understanding on the right terms

Do we judge against policies, reality TV? What do we do with art that doesn’t have validation.

Popularity – Democracy has bad taste.

Art in museums and galleries – how does it get chosen and end up there.

Enough of the right people think it’s good

Alan Bennett said – you don’t have to like it all.

Although we live in an era when everything can be art, not everything is art.

Audience of specialists – and non-specialists questions

Does democracy have bad taste?

Democracy has bad taste to what do you account for your own success?

Too middle brow. Good taste is sort of works within a tribe. In the artwork tribe they have the same values which aren’t in the bigger wider audience Join the tribe knowing that

Own tastes? What inspires.

Popular? Horror word. Also the group of people you need to like your work . Are there people you are terrified like your art in case then you are a failure

Trendies are the ones. If they like it it means there is an inevitability of becoming unfashionable.

Teasing in a way if the public like your work. When it ends up in say the Tate it’s not there because of the public. It’s a gradual consensus that forms over time as it’s seems and bought around the world.

Giving an exhibition is more important that what the public have thought before that.

Cast of validators. Top of the league is the curator

 

GP says he thinks we can get hung up on the uniqueness.

 

What would you take as a present of a piece – Breugel – Hunters in the Snow?

 

Progression to Calgary. - GP would want this one

 

There’s probably a tea towel as it’s that popular. Fantastic choice

Art as in fine art – more anger than any other arts ie theatre, music etc.

People get really cross going to art galleries. People think they are being fooled.

If someone expects to understand art straight away – it takes time sot get to understand. Emotionally and spiritually engage takes time. Intellectually is much quicker.