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Friday 25 March 2011

Grayson Perry R.A. Potter

There's something of the early dawn,
creation at the point of quickening,
when watching how form rises from amorphous clay,
the way the potter's fingers edge it into life.

If you could gather all the sand grains
from all the many beaches of this world
and match them 1:1 with all the stars,
the sand would run out long before they did.

Those fingers on the Sistine Chapel's ceiling now,
they might have been content
to render genesis
in porcelain,
had God been minimalist
in intent.

And should the potter then strive for the pristine form?
His prototype from God? Would that be it?
Undecorated and unglazed
or seen from far away,
its prelapsarian form conveys
perfection as it might have been.

But glazed, close up, the scene has changed,
and while the colours still would please
the most exacting God - and, being porcelain,
are proof against decay - they and its shape
are merely background now
to vistas of pornography,
of child abuse,
brutality and pain.
Perfection underlies and underlines
the artless marks unveiling blot and smudge.

A true and urgent metaphor for man.

Earlier this week Grayson Perry was made a member of The Royal Academy
The vase below is called "They have found the body of your child".

7 comments:

Corinna said...

Very moving poem. Impact exacting.

Isabel Doyle said...

a true and urgent metaphor ... a fine poem indeed

The Weaver of Grass said...

He is my favourite potter Dave - I love his work and also his courage in being himself. You have captured the spirit of his work well.

Jinksy said...

How well the pottery and poem match - clever you...

Sebab said...

Beautiful work. Wonderful poem and art.

Cloudia said...

yours is a world of beauty and mind!




Aloha to you
from Waikiki!


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Dave King said...

Fluid Idleness
Hi and a warm welcome to you. Good to have your comments. thank you for them.

Isabel
Much thanks for the comment.

Weaver of Grass
He's definitely my favourite living potter, and I agree about his courage to be himself. Thanks for the compliment.

Jinksy
Good of you to say that. Many thanks.

Sailor
Thanks a lot. Appreciate it.

Cloudia
Thanks Cloudia. Generous comment.