Grayson Perry, The vanity of small differences

What is it...?
A look into society as reportage, through the media of tapestry, Perry emerges himself within the social classes, taking part in their activities. He asks for stories and studies their homes, working then from sketches to create characters and a story all on one image. He created a total of six tapestries.


"I decided to make a series of six tapestries. I usually choose a medium because of the resonances it has acquired; tapestries are grand – they hang in the vast saloons and bedchambers of ancestral piles, they often depict classical myths or military victories....”
"In my series of six works, The Vanity of Small Differences, we follow the life of Tim Rakewell, from humble birth to famous death. The main thread of this journey is his progress through the social strata of modern British society...”
“We chose the three locations for our television series – Sunderland, Tunbridge Wells and the Cotswolds – because they are each already strongly identified with the social classes....” (1)

"A three-part documentary, All in the Best Possible Taste with Grayson Perry, accompanies the exhibition. It follows Perry as he develops his ideas for the tapestries and travels to towns and cities across the UK, investigating what ‘taste’ is and how it differs from place to place.” (2)

Content - 

The adoration of the cage fighters.
The pink outlines frames the characters like an umbilical cord, The mother and child within a coral sac, sat in similar position to the Virgin Mary and Child. The cage fighters kneel with gifts, and the grandma sits in a yellow orb, much like the star of Bethlehem. It is reminiscent of the birth of Jesus, with visitors and guests. 
The women dress in short dresses, exaggerated make-up. 
The fictional character it follows, Tim Rakewell, is shown with bright red hair.

The agony in the car park.
A karaoke singer raises above the suburban environment. 
The labels and drinks cans are all props, as well as the souped up cars in the right. Survalance cameras roll and the England flag flies. The red colour pops out and is harsh. 

Expulsion from number 8 Eden Close.
The image is split in half, with the two characters in the centre, in the middle of a transition. Grayson has used the weather to symbolise the changes, escaping to a better place. The model of the cars contrast with the luxurious pattern on the wall. Tim has the apple iPad and headphones, an improvement from an Adidas bag, and has also gained a blonde girlfriend.

The Annunciation of the Virgin Deal
The colours are bright and cheery, With fruit and veg on the table in front, perhaps to show the availability of fresh produce and health. An AGA cooker sits with a percolator, everything is very proper and indulgent. All the trinkets of middle class shine.  Tim and his partner have a baby and things seem to be going well...

The Upper class at bay.
Clad in tweed, the old stag runs from a large country home, in the middle of a hunt. The house is situated at the top of a hill, associated in the housing market as more expensive due to the views and large garden. The hounds are red and look like blood falling from the body of the deer. 

Lamination. 
Things have not ended too well, the money seemed to have driven Tim crazy and his beloved Porsche is in pieces due to his selfishness, He is shown indignant, with trousers by his ankles. He is almost back where he came from, where he belonged, with the neon lights or the petrol station and in the city. 

Having watched the tv documentary, it was amazing to see that each ‘class’ truly believed that they had to buy and show what was tasteful in their own class in order to fit in and be accepted as a society. However if you were to take a lower class man, with his souped up car and pitt terrier and placed him in a country home in the cotswolds... it just doesn’t happen. As social class and therefore money increases, so does taste and exuberance with labels. For example, lower class people show off their lables, on clothes and branding. However those of higher classes begin to get clothing without in-your-face branding, to show that they don’t need to.

How does the surroundings effect the content? Does environment affect us? How?

Content- 
 (3) Brecht Evans piece here resembles Perry’s Lamentation, with the dynamic compositions, high use of red colour and the scene of a car crash and blood. The dynamic lines go diagonal across the image, heightening the drama. Figures are fighting, onlooking, running in the distance.

(4) A picture from Greater Manchester news, depicting NYE. The drama and amount of figures in different actions creates a dynamic composition.

intent -

To explore this further, I will create my own scene of people and the environment - The comparison of places and people.

Communication Objectives

 Create a comparative scene of different surroundings, showing the effects of location on the people.

The lower high street includes Kebab shops and low price DIY stores . How does this compare with further up the high street onto the promenade of Cheltenham... how does the facade of shops change? What kind of people are found there, what breed of dogs do these people have and is there a change in the different areas. Does the road cause the two to have dramatic differences? 

Reference point - 

I will observe places associated with popular and unpopular areas of the town. I have chosen the lower high street as it is not in the centre, and so less people need to go there. The shops are small, independent shops whilst on the high street there are big chain stores. 

Experiments - 

I took a discrete  notebook to draw on the street. Although I am not interacting with the people as Grayson did, I observed at various points along the street, and let the atmosphere of conversations, noise etc help my observations. I had to try to not be bias, drawing only what I associated with the area. For example there was not only people in tracksuits and bad hair dyes, but a few women walking in smart shoes and coats. However, they were quite distinguishable from the people who had saggy smokers skin and bad fitting clothing.

Lower high street...
Cut out people observed from the area, with construction on an old pub in the background that has been closed for several years. 

A builder throws out buckets of water from a window, whilst a man in a suit, who stands out, surveys the area with one of the workers who is dressed in a puffer coat and baggy trousers.

The shop sign for ‘Aerials and cables’ is missing a few letters but is otherwise well painted in a dull grey. Above it sits a historical and battered up brickwork of the old ironworks, a plaque states. Plaster cracks in the buildings and windows are single glazed, filled with a layer of condensation from cooking in tiny kitchens. People talk harshly and fast. 

From left - A mother with her hair high up in a pony tail drags her reluctant child, who sobs in squawks. The dad pushes a pushchair in front, looking back occasionally. 

A woman walks with her head down, headphones on. Her bulky body is hidden beneath a bulkier jumper and loose trousers.  Her headphones cover some of her roots that are coming through her hair. 

Two men on a break walk across the road, A tall skinny man and a stockier man, both drinking coca cola. The shorter mans legs bow out slightly. 

A bald man had baggy clothes, and the almost symbolic two stripes down the tracksuit bottoms. 

A woman with bleached blonde hair walks, her face furrowed with folds like crumpled paper. She pass on her phone, wearing a puffed jacket. It doesn’t seem to be a friendly phone call.

The Promenade 

The upper Prom.  People carry shopping bags and colourful handbags. There are couples arm in arm and elderly men in long coats.

A man singing, he was originally outside M&S and the trumpet man was on the prom, but here I have put them together as a cacophony of sound. There is usually live proformers, and over christmas there were carol singers. It is a pleasant atmosphere to sit and have lunch.

A woman spotted outside Bella Italia, enjoying a relaxing cigarette and coffee. She watches the people that I am drawing.
The old man walks past.

She spots me. I move places. 

Lower high street...
The woman on her music device, Looking intently at the screen.
I’m very fond of this shot as the distortion of the flattened characters in the background isn’t too great.

All the small child sees are legs and feet, no wonder she is crying. Those trainers are so last season.

Lower (left) and higher high street (right). 

I have taken some close up, atmospheric shots of the scenes. I think its interesting that a close up angle gives a different story, you can imagine the full image as an opening scene from a movie, and the close up shot of a character to begin a narration form their pint of view. I could explore with producing backstories for these characters and maybe some still shots with their thoughts. I like the thought that every single person has a complex life, each with difficulties and ambitions, all moving in the same space.

 (1) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/10117264/Grayson-Perry-Taste-is-woven-into-our-class-system.html
(2) http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibitions/touring/grayson-perry-the-vanity-of-small-differences
(3) http://www.brechtevens.com
(4) http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-new-years-eve-pictures-10673770#rlabs=10%20p%241
(5)http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/the-creation-manchester-internet-reacts-10675641