I was hugely disappointed in this book. I've heard Grayson Perry's Reith Lectures (indeed, this book is largely based on this 2013 series), and I've watched him on the television, a sympathetic and perceptive interviewer. But Perry can't write. His chatty informal style, in which his meaning can't be assisted by tone of voice, tempo and style of delivery, renders him unclear and often makes his arguments seem glib. What could have been an interesting book, pointing up the differences in our modern era, when art is to some extent accessible to all, with the past, when wealthy private patrons or the church called the tune became a badly written ramble which I was eager to get finished. In case you're interested, reading this book pretty much uses up the train journey time between Leeds and Bolton. ( )

Starting with the good, I love the illustrations throughout this book, I loved the fourth chapter, I Found Myself in the Art World, and I love Grayson Perry as an artist. The fourth chapter is personal, straight, humorous, and has enjoyable anecdotes. The rest, however, is a watered down series of half-observations on what art is, and how it exists in the 'art world'. Although I accept that some of the observations on high art have accuracy, they are too simplified and miss some of the key points that were made by the artists (such as a poorly referenced throwback to Joseph Beuys' idea that everyone can be an artist, or a series of strange insults to the idea of curatorial practice). The writing also meanders away from the central points, and even the humour seems bitter at times when exploring the other themes of the book (what is art? who decides?). So this is just OK, maybe an interesting introduction to contemporary art for someone unfamiliar with art today, but overall not very enjoyable. ( )

I've become increasingly interested in art in the last few years, but finding well-written books to help me understand the world of art has not been so easy. There are some fine books out there, but they are out-numbered by dense and difficult books that take everything too seriously, or that assume a background knowledge that I simply don't possess.

'Playing to the Gallery' is not like that at all. Based on his Reith Lectures, this book is Grayson Perry's very approachable take on the world of contemporary art, and guides you through the major discussion points that people like me will inevitably run into - what is art? What does it mean to be an artist? Is everything art? Who decides?

I loved this book, and steamed through it in little more than a day. Now I need to go out there and find another book to take me further in my art adventure. ( )

This is a nice book to handle and to read, with delightful illustrations of a kind you would expect from Grayson Perry. I actually read it twice in the hope that I would not miss its message. The most memorable section is 'the beating the bounds' - this section is sub-titled 'What counts as art?' and has many good points.

On p.5 he says 'but with a few of the right tools we might find that we understand and appreciate it [contemporary art].' The eight boundaries of art certainly help with that p.55 ff.

His point about 'validation' p.22 certainly is important. And maybe each level of the validation process is a tool.

I would have liked Perry to elaborate on 'the right tools' rather than leaving the reader to work out what he thinks they are. A pity because it might have been really helpful.

I tried to apply some of the points made to the Niuean New Zealand artist John Pule about whom there was an article in Art New Zealand Autumn 2017. The article itself from a critic/interviewer could be regarded as a tool and if one visited his dealer gallery there may be more information. What other tools are there to use? p.111 'Art's primary role is to make meaning.' Certainly we can apply such a statement (tool?) to Pule's work, and yes he makes meaning of his current geographical and genealogical context through his painting.

There are propositions which make the book worthwhile -" the artist's job is to notice things". However I found the book as a whole too discursive and not sufficiently focused. Maybe it is really more of an autobiographical work and I have missed the point...

His description of 'fine art' challenged me - I don't think of pottery as fine art and I don't think of the Berlin Goddess as fine art. It seems like a bit of a red herring p.45.

Grayson Perry's book 'The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman' is much more satisfactory. ( )

loved the pictures , and found what he ahd to say very interesting, but some of the points were made in a rambling, repetitive kind of a way ( )