grayson Perry- i am a man Flashcards
year
2014
technique
lost wax like benin bronzes:
modelled with clay, mold made from model
mold was brushed with wax
wax covered in layers of het resistent plaster
wax tubes fitted
molten bronse poured through ducts, wax melts out tubes
material
cast in bronze and finished with a dark patina
by castina in bronze status and importance is added to the subject
recalls benin bronzes
great technical skill required for thickness of bronze
link to benin bronzes
-regal connotations of BB lend the work dignity and connote a strength and power to the subject
-perry deliberately draws parallels to what the bronzes represent: cultral pride, power, kingship, heroism
who does the sculpture depict
Alexander white Huggins- sculpture of a female to male black transsexual
commonly kmown as ‘jazz’
how did white Huggins struggle
in persuading his family of the necessity of his gender reassignment
how does perry identify with the subject
identifies with story (started exploring gender through transvestisicsm age 12)
fascinated by issues of gender
although masculine transvestitism is a big part of his life and childhood (he plays with construct of masculinity
how does this sculpture recall peter pan and whats the significance of this
white-huggins’s favourite fictional character as a child (he was a permenatly pre-pubescet boy traditionally played on stage by an adult woman) huggins identifies with this imposter like feeling
recalls sculpture of peter pan in kensington gardens by sir george frampton 1912 (but rendered in style of benin bronze for culture identification)
pose
stands on top of a rams trunk (elevates status and triumph)
blows a rams horn (affirm triumph and pride aswell as connotations of masculinity)
bare chested pose is proud (confident in male identity after top surgery, which would have taken place by 2014)
significace of blowing a rams horn
blows a rams horn (affirm triumph and pride aswell as connotations of masculinity)
significance of bare chested pose
bare chested pose is proud (confident in male identity after top surgery, which would have taken place by 2014)
scale
small scale increases intimacy, shows personal matter of subject
alludes to benin bronzes
59 x 30 x 33 cm
clothing
semi nude, draped cloth around waist (proud in masculine identity)
objects/attributes surrounding him
‘minasture versionsof cliched masculinity’
dog
hand axe (strength, masculinity, also alludes to ceremonial axe of benin bronze)
guitar (seen in white huggins’s room)
a beer bottle
a football
wooden sword
rocket
phallic imagrey of a penis
exhibition
part of an exhibition of 14 works for national portrait gallery
celebration of identity celebrated in a national space of colonialism
-. It was interesting particularly that Perry was allowed to display his work with the cast gallery, which represents ‘the great and the good’ of British History. Perry’s aim was to make a ‘Portrait of a Nation’ and also to subvert our pre-conceptions of British identity.
grayson perry critical quote on gender
there is great pressure on society to sell us the idea of being either totally male or totally female.’
what the book of poems white huggins wrote
jazz poems- written to express himself
He performed one of these poems during the documentary.
material
Patinated brass - alludes to the benin ‘bronzes’
alexander white huggins backstory
-male black transsexual called Alexander White-Huggins or ‘Jazz’
-about his struggles , particularly persuading his family of necessity of his gender re-assignment was tracked in Episode 1 of the documentary series ‘Who are You’, which Perry presented.
PETER PAN
am a Man depicts White-Huggins heroically as his favourite childhood fictional character, Peter Pan, a permanently pre-pubescent boy traditionally played on stage by an adult woman
TOP SURGERY
-had top surgery in 2014
JAZZ POEMS
-written to process feelings
-performed one in grayson perry’s documentary
perry quote on likening this to the benin bronzes
’ I really love Benin Bronzes from West Africa; they’re incredibly dignified and powerful. This is Jazz as a kind of Benin-style Peter Pan. ‘
how does it recall benin bronzes
-material (brass/bronze)
-done in lost wax technique
-symbol of power
-symbols of masculinity (e.g phallus)
-The hand axe is also an allusion to the ‘Ceremonial Axes’ held by Oba in the Benin Bronze plaque in the British Museum.
significance of hand axe
The hand axe is also an allusion to the ‘Ceremonial Axes’ held by Oba in the Benin Bronze plaque in the British Museum.
perry personal context
TRANSVESTISISM
*Having started exploring gender through transvestitism at the age of 12, Perry is naturally and personally fascinated by issues of gender.
what is it finished in
a dark patina
where is it currently displayed
*I am a Man was displayed among the Gallery’s portraits of heroes, Baden Powell, Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole and soldiers Lord Kitchener and Frederick Barnaby, in a room entitled ‘Expansion and Empire’. This placement means that White-Huggins’ proclamation of an identity outside gender convention was celebrated in a space of colonialism.
*It was near The Line of Departure, a Perry tapestry in the style of an Afghan rug which shows three wounded war veterans,
