Grayson Perry: The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman has been published by the British Museum Press to accompany a major exhibition, of the same name, on show from 6th October 2011 to 19th February 2012.
The publication provides a record of the items displayed in the exhibition. Unlike most exhibition catalogues it does not provide a detailed history of each and every item. In fact, Grayson Perry takes delight in not offering these details, in deliberately omitting such information! If you're looking for historical revelation, or scholarly analysis, this is not the book for you. If you're looking for a book about things made by anonymous craftsmen, chosen by Perry because of the way they speak to him and correlate to his work, then this book is an excellent choice.
Grayson Perry: The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman – Layout of the Book
The text is short and sweet comprising the Sponsor's foreword, the Director's foreword and an Introduction by Grayson Perry in which he outlines his motives for wanting to mount an exhibition at the British Museum: ″I wanted to create a site of pilgrimage to play with the idea of sacred journeys, holy relics and their relationship to contemporary art and the museum.″ (p.15). The catalogue, like the display, features some curious juxtapositions between items created by Perry and those selected from the BM's collections.
The Importance of Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage is an underlying theme in both the exhibition and the catalogue. Perry explores the subject in great detail, showing how the exhibition is itself a pilgrimage in many forms. Firstly, there is the pilgrimage of visitors to the British Museum and thence to the exhibition. Then there is Perry's pilgrimage to Germany with Alan Measles, and thirdly, there is the imagined visit to Perry's imagination. Finally, there are the objects from the BM's collection that have witnessed pilgrimages, both holy and secular, throughout the centuries.
Who is Alan Measles?
Perry explores various themes, starting with Who is Alan Measles? and The Ten Days of Alan. To understand Grayson Perry one must get to know Alan. In Who is Alan Measles? the artist explains the importance of Alan, not just during his childhood, but into adulthood as well. Alan is the 50-year-old teddy bear on which Perry projected his hopes and dreams during his childhood, and who still occupies an important place in the artist's world, having attained the status of ″deity″.
The Ten Days of Alan outlines Perry's 2010 motorbike pilgrimage to Germany, accompanied by Alan Measles, who rode in a shrine-like case mounted on the rear wheel of the vehicle, which by the way is called ″Patience″. Germany was chosen because during Perry's childhood, Alan fought many imaginary wars against Germany, and the pilgrimage was Perry's way of making friends with the enemy.
Grayson Perry's Additional Themes
Once we understand Alan's place, and the importance of pilgrimage in Perry's life, we can then explore the rest of the publication and the themes that interest the artist, such as Cultural Conversations, Shrines, Magick, Maps, Souvenirs of Pilgrimage, Sexuality and Gender, Scary Figures, Craftsmanship, Patina & Texture, and the most important of all, The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman.
The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman
The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman is a major artwork taking the form of a six-and-a-half foot long ship, cast in iron but resembling wood. The ship, which symbolically sails into the afterlife, carries objects based on, or actually cast from, items in the British Museum. It is a memorial to all the unknown craftsmen, from every century and civilisation, who many of the treasures on display at the British Museum.
Grayson Perry: The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman is priced at £25 (Members' price £22.50). With 192 pages, and more than two hundred illustrations reproduced on very good quality paper, this hardback publication is excellent value for money (ISBN 978 0 7141 1820 8). Further information can be obtained from The British Museum and all good book stores.
Related Article
The exhibition is described in greater detail in Grayson Perry Shows Own Work With Favourites from British Museum.
Sources:
- Perry, G., Grayson Perry: The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman, British Museum Press, 2011
- The British Museum
Frances Spiegel - Frances Spiegel, B.A. Hons. (Open)., Dip.Eur.Hum., read Art History/European Modern History at the Open University.
