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The Reith Lectures

BBC

Society & Culture, Science, Government, Technology

4.2 • 770 Ratings

🗓️ 29 October 2013

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the third of four lectures, recorded in front of an audience at The Guildhall in Londonderry, the artist Grayson Perry asks if revolution is a defining idea in art, or has it met its end?

Perry says the world of art seems to be strongly associated with novelty. He argues that the mainstream media seems particularly drawn to the idea of there being an avant-garde: work is always described as being "cutting edge," artists are "radical," shows are "mould-breaking," ideas are "ground-breaking," "game-changing" or "revolutionary," We are forever being told that a new paradigm is being set. Perry says we have reached the final state of art. Not an end game, as there will always be great new art, but that art has lost one of its central tenets: its ability to shock. We have seen it all before.

Grayson Perry was awarded the Turner Prize in 2003 and is the first contemporary artist to deliver the Reith Lectures. He is best known for his ceramic works, print making, drawing, sculpture and tapestries as well as being a flamboyant cross-dresser.

The Reith Lectures are presented and chaired by Sue Lawley and produced by Jim Frank.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy.
0:05.4	My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds.
0:10.7	The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that.
0:17.4	With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to helping
0:22.7	you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put together
0:28.7	by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life,
0:34.9	check out BBC Sounds. Hello and welcome to the 2013 BBC Reith Lectures Download.
0:41.3	This year I, Grace and Perry, present a series of four lectures entitled Playing to the Gallery.
0:46.3	In these lectures I'll be looking at the role and place of art in the global landscape of the 21st century,
0:52.3	talking about topics such as the role of art in society,
0:56.0	the limits of contemporary art,
0:57.8	and the idea of how we judge quality.
1:00.2	Hello and welcome to the third of this year's BBC Reith Lectures.
1:04.5	This time we're in Northern Ireland,
1:06.8	in Londonderry's Guildhall,
1:08.9	a beautifully refurbished building in the heart of this old, walled city.
1:13.9	Almost destroyed by fire in 1908 and badly bombed during the troubles, it's now risen again,
1:20.5	a symbol of Derry's position as the UK's City of Culture for 2013.
1:26.5	Its clock tower is original, in fact fact and you'll no doubt hear its bells
1:30.5	as we go along. The lectures are called playing to the gallery and I hope you'll agree that they're
1:36.8	turning out to be a thoughtful and witty exploration of the modern relationship between society
1:42.6	and art. So far we've tried to assess the nature of what art is.
	...

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