Brilliant Ideas Episode #1:
Grayson Perry

Grayson Perry was born in in Chelmsford, Essex County, northeast of London. Perry had a tough childhood after his father left. In his youth, he played with a teddy bear he named Alan Measles, on which he projected a sort of father figure character. He took the name Alan from his closest childhood friend and Measles from the disease he had as a child. The teddy bear is featured heavily in his works.
In fact, Perry’s artworks are from very simple motivations. At the award ceremonies where Perry came dressed as a woman, many asked if he dressed up as a “symbolistic way of expressing his feminity.” In our episode, he touches on the subject again with a lighthearted laugh. “I’ve just enjoyed dressing this way, ever since I was a child.”
The story behind his first encounter with ceramics is similarly drama-less. It happened almost by accident. In the open atmosphere of Portsmouth Polytechnic, Perry had been experimenting with various materials when he started to show interest in ceramics. He explains that he simply enjoyed playing with clay, which led to give ceramics a try.

Perry’s early works were no different from any young-blooded artist whose focus is entirely introspective, personal and biographical. Then he began to depict what people wore, what they drank and what they thought about. He went on to explore “How does one characterize the culture and the unconsciousness that dictates the education that one receives or places one frequents?” The artist who once never ventured far from his childhood teddy bear became increasingly interested in social issues and interpersonal matters, although his work clearly does not come with an agenda. He adds, “In the end, people are not alone, and we develop in community, in people and relationships.”
“Gender” is an ongoing interest for Perry. As a cross-dresser from a young age, he himself is a living sculpture and an ongoing performer. For his role in breaking down normative boundaries, he is often called a “creative personality.” Perry uses a wide range of familiar materials such as ceramics, tapestry and photography to complete his work, conveying through them entirely new and unique ideas. Perry states that he does not think of himself as an artist working with unique ideas, and that he is not afraid of being categorized as an artist who is simply skilled at making flashy and seductive work. However, many are aware of the profundity veiled beneath the layers of glamor.
Perry is now more global than ever. As he expands his reach internationally, his British identity however has become increasingly distinct. His work now embodies more tradition, humor and social relevance he experienced, which makes him feel like a British ambassador of sorts, a feeling he catches himself savoring.

Grayson Perry is one of Britain's best-known contemporary artists. He works with traditional media such as ceramics, cast iron, bronze, printmaking and tapestry, and is interested in how each historic category of object accrues over time’s intellectual and emotional baggage. Perry is a great chronicler of contemporary life, drawing viewers in with beauty, wit, affecting sentiment and nostalgia as well as fear and anger. His hard-hitting and exquisitely crafted works reference his own childhood and life as a transvestite while also engaging with wider social issues from class and politics to sex and religion.

Winner of the 2003 Turner prize, Perry was elected a Royal Academician in 2012; the following year, he received a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, and in 2015 he has been awarded the prestigious appointments of Trustee of the British Museum and Chancellor of the University of the Arts London.