Still Life Of Grayson Perry Cbe Ra (Born 24th March 19600 Poem by Sheena Blackhall

Still Life Of Grayson Perry Cbe Ra (Born 24th March 19600



Artist, writer, broadcaster.
Creator of ceramic vases, tapestries
Cross dresser, dissector of British prejudices, fashions and foibles
Perry fashions images of "Claire", his alter-ego,
And "Alan Measles", his childhood teddy bear and comforter

Winner of theTurner Prize in 2003
The man is a cultural icon, a creative powerhouse

When he was four, his father left the family
His mother then moved in a violent partner
He was bounced like a ping pong ball between his parents
Batted back and fore, back and fore
Clutching Alan Measles his only anchor

At 15, he evolved into a transvestite
Stepped out in woman's clothing
His father threw him out
The chrysalis that hatched was not to his taste

He studied Fine Art
Lived life often naked. Painted his body
Stayed in squats in central London.
His stepfather told him "Don't come back".
His mother cut him adrift

The man is a cultural icon, a creative powerhouse

His wife is a psychotherapist
They named their daughter Florence
With a nod to Italian masters

He curated an exhibition of art by prisoners
And ex-offenders, entitled Insider Art
Not elitist, his Art embraces all

Like a diamond, he has many facets
This mountain biker, motor cyclist
This Labour supporter and potter

He describes hisfemale alter-ego, "Claire", as
‘a 19th century reforming matriarch,
a middle-England protester for No More Art,
an aero-model-maker, an Eastern European Freedom Fighter,
a fortysomething woman living in aBarratt home
the kind of woman who eats ready meals
and can just about sew on a button.'

The man is a cultural icon, a creative powerhouse

In his Mother of All Battles, in a photograph of Claire
She is holding a gun and wearing a dress,
In ethnic eastern European style
One critic called him ‘The social critic from hell'.

His ceramics are highly complex
Glazed, incised, embossed, with photographic transfers
Little relief sculptures are stuck to the surface

During the Covid pandemic,
Perry presented Grayson's Art Clubfrom his home studio,
Where viewers produced and shared
Their own artworks from the misery of lockdown.

The man is a cultural icon, a creative powerhouse

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Close
Error Success