We visited 'The tomb of the unknown craftsman' exhibition @ The British Museum. Honestly, usually I avoid these type of old artefact museums. I appreciate the craft, but it just does not do it for me. However, this exhibition was a nice 'bite-size' introduction.
I really liked the opening message;
"Do not look to hard for meaning here. I am not a historian, I am an artist. That is all you need to know"
I think this prompted people to do the exact opposite. When I was observing people viewing the exhibition they were mostly deep in thought trying to find a meaning... a purpose... perhaps the point. I overheard long winded discussions via articulate mouths contemplating "the meaning". Perhaps this was Grayson Perry's intention????
The artefacts were the usual run of the mill types you would expect. What interested me most were the quotes from Grayson Perry (curator). One in particular was his take on Maps.
"Maps: We trust maps. Maps are meant to be a trustworthy diagram of reality. All maps though, contain some very human bias. They can emphasise desirable features and leave out the undesirible. I like maps of feeling, beliefs and the irrational. They use our trust of maps to persuade us that there might be some truth in their beauty." - Grayson Perry
I had never really thought about the trust we have for maps and how someone would be able to take advantage of this trust to direct us to something they deemed desirable. Therefore, indirectly influencing our lives.
Our next projects title is: Mapping the body. I receive the brief on Monday but already I think I might choose this quote as inspiration for it, as long as it fits into the brief.
I seen a book in the Museum shop that was really interesting: Personal Geographie and other maps of the imagination by Katherine Harmon. I didn't buy it at the time because I was skint. My student loan comes in soon, so I might just have to buy it for the sake of art! :D
