I have tremendous respect for Mr Perry. He looks and sounds like the kind of man to have a pint with in the local pub.
There's nothing stuffy about his art and he sounds so down to earth and such a supporter of artists whatever their medium and whatever their age.
Much of his work is fun and that was a thread running throughout the programme. He was talking about just what constitutes art and his message was basically art is what you want it to be. And it got me thinking about my life during lockdown.
I can't draw, I can't paint, I can't build things but I believe I have some ability in writing and photography and those have been "my art" over the past year and will probably continue to be over the next one.
So a question - "do you perceive my Hethersett Herald magazine as a form of art?" Is my daily blog or my new podcasts forms of art? I would certainly like to think so and it would give me a warm glow if others felt they are.
I will add Grayson Perry to my list of people I would like to invite to a dinner party. He could rock up alongside Michael Ball, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Lee Mack, David "Bumble" Lloyd and a whole host of dead rock artists.
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Yesterday I set off on my walk hoping to take photographs of the village for a You Tube slide show but realised that it was far too grey and also spitting with rain. So I will wait for a brighter day.
It does pose a question in my mind, however. Is it wrong to wait for sunshine before taking photos or should they just reflect how something is at a specific time? Does it give the wrong impression to show photos in bright sunshine rather than how the subject is for much of the year?
Of course when taking photos of Hethersett to show the village at its best I can simply wait days or even weeks until the sun is shining brightly and the sky is blue. Sometimes this isn't possible. If I am say in Rome and I'm only there for the day I have to depict the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain and St Mark's Square in whatever the weather conditions are at the time.
This line of thought was brought out to me last weekend as I mentioned previously. On trips to Norwich I love taking photos. Photos of the Wensum, the Cathedral, the Castle and Elm Hill and much more. So I always gravitate to these subjects.
Last week I deliberately walked round Norwich seeking out closed down businesses and graffiti in order to show another side of Norwich. Was it wrong to do so? Should I have stayed with the calendar style shots of beauty or mixed the two areas together? Oh the dilemma of an artiste!!!
I would love to hear your comments on the points I have raised in my blog today.
Finally I did something I have never done before - no not bought a round of drinks - putting a small piano piece I have written on a podcast. I love playing the piano - will blog about it sometime. But I do it for my own amusement and just can't play to other people. But putting a piece on a podcast is a way of sharing it with others without having to have them watch me.