Anna Grayson

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Anna Grayson is a British geologist, writer, broadcaster, and artist. She is known for bringing earth sciences to popular attention in the UK through numerous books and BBC radio and television series in the 1990s and early 2000s, particularly through the programmes Rock Solid, Postcards from the Past and The Essential Guide to Rocks. [1] [2] In 1996, Grayson made headlines around the world with the discovery of a blue mineral which at the time was believed to be hitherto unknown to science. [3] [4] [5] [6] After further research, the rock was confirmed to be an unusually large sample of the rare blue mineral, aerinite. [7]

Contents

Since completing an access course at Exeter College of Art in 2012, Grayson has pursued a second career as an artist, focusing on photographic pastiches of famous works of art. [8] Five of her works have been exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London, and she has been featured on Grayson Perry's Art Club on Channel 4 television. [9] [10]

Early life and education

Grayson is the daughter of Harry Grayson, [11] a British scientist who helped to develop in-aircraft radar during the Second World War. [12] She was educated at Walthamstow High School for Girls, and went on to read geology at the University of St. Andrews, [2] [8] [13] [14] graduating in 1974. [15] She married Dr Desmond Clark in 1976. [11]

Media career

Following university, Grayson trained as a radio studio manager with the BBC. She went on to become a producer and presenter, featuring in segments on many popular series on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 5, including Science Now, Woman's Hour, The Food Programme, and You and Yours. [14] [16]

From the late 1980s to the early 2000s, Grayson fronted many factual radio and television series covering a variety of subjects. Her work primarily focused on popular science and she is best known for programmes which brought earth sciences into public imagination in the UK. [1] A review of the book and TV programme Postcards from the Past in the journal Geology Today credited Grayson's persistence as a geologist and presenter for the "very welcome breakthrough for our science to have a programme devoted to geology". [17] In 1997, she launched the inaugural Scottish Geology Week. [1] [18] [19] She was a patron of and adviser to the Dynamic Earth exhibition in Edinburgh for five years, before resigning in 1999 over concerns about the costs. [2]

Radio

TitleStationEpisodesFirst BroadcastSubject
Learn to Earn

(Series 1) [20]

BBC Radio 5625 March 1991 – 29 April 1991Exploring retraining and career opportunities for adults over 25
Kissing Frogs [21] BBC Radio 436 September 1991 – 12 October 1991Documentary series analysing the direct marketing industry
Up to the Neck in It [22] BBC Radio 4113 October 1991The environmental challenges of farm waste
Learn to Earn (Series 2) [23] BBC Radio 5610 February 1992 – 16 March 1992Exploring retraining and career opportunities for adults over 25
Anna Goes to the Seaside [24] BBC Radio 565 July 1992 – 24 July 1992Entertaining guide to a selection of British seaside towns
Rock Solid (Series 1) [1] [15] [25] [26] BBC Radio 5610 August 1992 – 14 September 1992The geology of Britain
Dinomania [27] BBC Radio 413 January 1993The magic, myths and metaphors of the dinosaur
Learn to Earn (Series 3) [28] [29] BBC Radio 5616 March 1993 – 27 April 1993Exploring retraining and career opportunities for adults over 25
Rock Solid (Series 2) [30] BBC Radio 5625 August 1993 – 29 September 1993The geology of Britain
Choosing a School [31] [32] BBC Radio 526 October 1993 – 13 October 1993Guide to choosing primary and secondary schools in the UK
How Does Your Garden Grow [33] BBC Radio 2 628 October 1995 – 2 December 1995The science of gardening, included visits to the gardens of various well-known figures including Judith Hann, Patrick Moore, Thelma Barlow, Bill Giles, Ken Livingstone, and Miriam Rothschild
The Magic Formula [34] BBC Radio 4120 January 1996The influence of mineralogy and alchemy on Mozart's The Magic Flute
Science in the Attic [35] BBC Radio 451 October 1998 – 29 October 1998Profiling the achievements of amateur scientists

Television

TitleChannelEpisodesFirst BroadcastSubject
Earth – the Home Planet [36] Channel 4529 April 1993Educational series about Earth and the Solar System
Digging Deep [37] Anglia Television 11993 Archaeological excavations around the Castle Mall in Norwich
Postcards from the Past [1] [2] [13] [19] [38] [17] [39] [40] BBC Two 116 March 1997A history of the last 3 billion years of the British Isles, part of the BBC's Natural World strand
Live From Mars [41] BBC Two15 July 1997A look at the first images of Mars sent back by the NASA Pathfinder probe
The Essential Guide to Rocks [1] [2] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] BBC Two52 November 1998 – 7 December 1998Major television series looking at the geology of the UK. Grayson was series consultant and writer, and co-hosted with Kate Humble, Ray Mears and Duncan Copp
Ology Hour [48] BBC Knowledge 115 September 1999Exploring the world of fossils, dinosaurs, evolution and extinction

Books

Contributions to public understanding of Earth Science

Blue mineral

In March 1996, Grayson made headlines around the world with the discovery of a blue mineral that could not be identified by scientists. [3] [4] [5] She had purchased the rock at a roadside stall in Morocco in the early 1980s, where the seller had identified it as lapis lazuli, a relatively common blue mineral. During National Science Week, Grayson had taken the rock to an event run by the Natural History Museum in London, where museum staff were offering to help identify mysterious objects brought in by the public. [3] After further research, the mineral was identified as aerinite, a rare bright blue mineral originating in Spain and Morocco. [7]

Awards

In 1998, Grayson was awarded the R.H. Worth prize by the Geological Society of London, for encouragement of amateur interest in geology through the broadcast media. [54]

In 1999, she won the Glaxo Wellcome ABSW Science Writers' Award for best science television, for her work on The Essential Guide to Rocks. [55]

Combatting sexism

Throughout her career, Grayson has been a vocal force in the promotion of the role played by women in earth sciences and science more generally, as well as combatting sexism directed towards her. Whilst at a promotional photocall for The Essential Guide to Rocks, she declined the photographer's request that she pass her geological hammer to co-presenter Ray Mears, on the basis that she was the only trained geologist in the picture. [56] In 2021, the geologist Stuart Monro was reprimanded by the Geological Society for verbally abusing Grayson at a dinner in 1999. Monro was accused of "shouting, spitting, and making sexist comments." Grayson made the complaint after being inspired by the MeToo movement. [57]

Art career

In 2012, Grayson enrolled on an art access course at Exeter College. [9] For one assignment, she recreated Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait as a photographic pastiche, featuring modern-day subjects looking at their smartphones. [8] The piece was highly commended by the South West Academy and in 2014 was hung at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London. [28] [58] [59] A further four more pastiches have appeared at the Summer Exhibition, including versions of Leonardo's Mona Lisa , The Kiss by Klimt, a still life depicting fossils and rocks, and, in 2024, Rembrandt's A Woman Bathing in a Stream . [9] [58] [59] [60] Her work has been featured on Grayson Perry's Art Club on Channel 4. [8] In 2022 Grayson had a solo exhibition of photographs at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter, entitled The Photographic Art Thief. [60] [61]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology</span> Scientific study of Earths physical composition

Geology is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth sciences, including hydrology. It is integrated with Earth system science and planetary science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandstone</span> Type of sedimentary rock

Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized silicate grains, cemented together by another mineral. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metamorphic rock</span> Rock that was subjected to heat and pressure

Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than 150 to 200 °C and, often, elevated pressure of 100 megapascals (1,000 bar) or more, causing profound physical or chemical changes. During this process, the rock remains mostly in the solid state, but gradually recrystallizes to a new texture or mineral composition. The protolith may be an igneous, sedimentary, or existing metamorphic rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock (geology)</span> Naturally occurring mineral aggregate

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  28. 1 2 Moorhead, Rosy (16 June 2014). "Former Abbots Langley artist Anna Grayson has a photograph on display in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition". Watford Observer. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
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  49. ↑ Grayson, Anna (1992). Rock solid: Britain's most ancient heritage. British Museum. London: British Museum. ISBN   978-0-565-01108-6.
  50. ↑ Grayson, Anna (1996). Postcards from the Past. BBC Education. ISBN   9781860003097.
  51. ↑ Grayson, Anna (22 September 2000). Equinox: The Earth. Pan Macmillan. ISBN   9780752272160.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  52. ↑ Challoner, Jack; Grayson, Anna; Harclerode, Peter (2001). Equinox Book of Science. Pan Macmillan. ISBN   9780752261362.
  53. ↑ Pledger, Keith; Bearne, Amanda; Bolger, Sharon; Grayson, Anna; and 15 others (24 June 2008). Level Up Maths. Heinemann. ISBN   9780435537319.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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  55. ↑ "BBC News | Sci/Tech | News Online's Science Editor grabs top award". news.bbc.co.uk. 30 June 1999. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  56. ↑ Nield, Ted. "Reviews – Tools of the Trade". Geoscientist Online. The Geological Society of London. Retrieved 2024-12-16. When the legendary geologist science-writer (now artist) Anna Grayson was posing before the Old Man of Hoy with Ray Mears, Kate Humble and the rest of the team for the Radio Times group photo marking the broadcast of The essential guide to rocks (BBC, 2011), the snapper paused and said 'Anna dear, can you give your 'ammer to Ray?'. She refused – and quite right too. The hammer is, as she protested, the tool of the geologist's trade.
  57. ↑ Horne, Marc (2021-07-12). "Scientist rebuked over 'spitting' incident". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
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