Changing Britain

7/27/2019 Changing Britain

1/8


2/8


3/8

An early practitioner o social observationwas the German-born photographer BillBrandt, who arrived in Britain in the early1930s, where he began recording Englishsociety and its customs. The English atHome, published in 1936, depicted thelives o the upper classes, observing their

social codes with the detached manner osomeone unamiliar with this country andits mores. The same year, several hundredpeople marched rom Jarrow to Westminsterto protest against unemployment andextreme poverty. The protest, which becameknown as the Jarrow March, did little toalleviate their misery but as a result, Brandtbecame increasingly concerned about theplight o the working classes. Visiting the

north o England or the frst time in 1937,

he began to document the lives o the poorand the working class, producing imagesthat contrasted starkly with the pictures ohis earlier well-heeled subjects.

The outbreak o the Second WorldWar produced more photographers keento make observations o society and our

way o lie. Some were nanced by theWar Oce and Ministry o Inormation.Brandt, one such photographer, wascommissioned to document air raid sheltersand the streets o London in the blackout.Another photographer, George Rodger,previously employed by the ListenerMagazine, recorded the eects o theBlitz on the lives o the British people.

In the post war period images o the

daily lives o Britons could be ound in the

George Rodger, A London amily bombed out o their home during

the night, salvage a ew personal belongings on the pavement, 1940


4/8

The colour supplements o The SundayTimes and The Observer, which appearedin the mid 1960s, only partially flled the gap,their emphasis being more on reportageand news photos. Nevertheless, thedesire to capture our way o lie in picturesremained. Tony Ray-Jones, returning to this

country in 1965 rom the United States,began a camper van tour o the countrywith the express intention to documentEnglish estivals and customs beore webecame too Americanised.

Until the 1970s the Arts Council, likemost museums and galleries, did notcollect photographic work in the sameway as painting or sculpture, regardingphotography as a news medium. But,

in 1973, the Council appointed their rst

Tony Ray-Jones, Picnic, Glyndebourne, 1967

Tony Ray-Jones collection at the National Media Museum/SSPL

pages o magazines like Picture Post, TheTatlerand Illustrated London News, whichemployed the talents o photographerssuch as Roger Mayne and Bert Hardy.Roger Mayne, ater achieving successas a photographer in the United States,returned to Britain in 1954. He settled in

North Kensington and embarked on whatbecame his most amous work, SouthamStreet. A somewhat reserved person, heelt immediately at home with the busystreet lie o the area, describing the streetsas having their own kind o splendourwhether empty or swarming with people.

With the arrival o television in the 1950smagazine sales began to dwindle and, asa result, an important source o nancial

support or photographers diminished.


5/8

ull time Photography Ocer, Barry Lane.The previous year Lane had producedhis authoritative report Public Fundingo Photography in America and Canada,which convinced the Council that in orderor photography to fourish in this countryit needed sustained unding and support.

Lane immediately appointed a committeeo specialists to advise on photography withthe aim o organising touring exhibitions,producing and disseminating publicationsand, most importantly, commissioningand buying photographic work. With thisbreakthrough the Councils extraordinaryphotography collection was established.

A number o British photographers werestarting to work in a markedly dierent way.

While they continued to explore the amiliar

subject matter o social deprivation, thesenew photographers did not wish to solelyrefect British courage and determinationin the ace o adversity. Through the 1970s,images o a more divided society beganto emerge. The establishment o smallgalleries across the country dedicated to

photography also meant that there wereincreased opportunities or photographersto show their work.

In addition to acquiring work, theArts Council recognised the need toprovide nancial support or strugglingpractitioners. Grants were made availableto photographers on the understandingthat once the work was made it wouldautomatically fnd a home in the Collection.

In 1974, with the support o the Arts Council,

Martin Parr, Hebden Bridge,

Steep Lane buet lunch, 19741977

Martin Parr/ Magnum Photos

Vanley Burke, Grove Junior School Reading with

Teacher(rom Handsworth rom Inside series),

19681982


6/8

arrived in this country as a child in the mid-sixties and, having received a camera as agit, began to take photographs o his localcommunity in Handsworth, Birmingham.Having noticed a lack o images o blackpeople in British photography he madea conscious decision to document their

social history.Until the 1980s most British documentary

photographers produced their work inblack and white. Paul Graham was one othe rst photographers to embrace colourlm, which he used to extraordinary eectin the series Beyond Caring, 19841986.The work constitutes a record o peoplesexperiences o the welare benets system.Made during a time o economic recession,

the images evidence a powerul sense o

Paul Graham, Old man being interviewed, DHSS Ofce, Birmingham 1984(rom the series Beyond Caring 19841986), 1985

Daniel Meadows took to the road in adouble-decker bus or a project called theFree Photographic Omnibus, an attemptby Meadows to capture traditions andcarnivals that were ast disappearing. Threeyears later, Ian Berry produced his two yearexploration o English lie in a book o

photographs, simply entitled The English.In the same decade the work o Martin

Parr began to attract interest. Perhapsour most perceptive commentator on theidiosyncrasies o the British at leisure, hiswork has proved controversial or its lessthan comortable perspective. The 1970salso witnessed the development o a moreethnically diverse population and theemergence o photographers like Vanley

Burke. Originally rom Jamaica, Burke had


7/8

social inequality and embody a somewhatbleak assessment o the lives o the poor.

In the early 1990s the photographycollection was incorporated into the mainbody o the Arts Council Collection whereit has remained ever since. Refectingthe increasing interest in the art market,

photography is pro-actively acquired, but,as the medium has become ully integratedwithin ne art practice, the emphasis is lesson documentary work. One o the morerecent works in this display, 14 February1992; Auction o the contents o RobertMaxwells London home, Sothebys, 1992,is rom a larger collaborative project byartists Henry Bond and Liam Gillick andillustrates one o the ways in which artists

work in the photographic medium has

evolved. For their Documents project o1990, the artists attempted to examine thedissemination o inormation through themedia by using materials rom press agenciesand posing as journalists to gain access tonews events.

Like the rest o the Arts Council Collection,

photography continues to generate a highdemand or loans rom other institutions andcontinues to be shown extensively in our owntouring exhibitions. Since 2008, two majorexhibitions eaturing photography No SuchThing as Societycurated by Proessor DavidAlan Mellor and Unpopular Culture: GraysonPerry Selects rom the Arts Council Collection have been shown in eighteen venues in theUnited Kingdom, Sweden and Poland where

they have been seen by over 210,000 people.

Henry Bond and Liam Gillick, 14th February 1992;

Auction o the contents o Robert Maxwells London home, Sothebys, 1992


8/8

What is the Arts Council Collection?

The Arts Council Collection is one o this countrys

oremost national collections o post-war British

art. It is also the most widely circulated collection

o its kind. It acts as a museum without walls,

lending modern and contemporary British art topublicly unded bodies within the UK as well as

museums and galleries worldwide.

Why does it exist?

The Collection was established in 1946 with

the aim o purchasing innovative work rom

artists living and working in Britain. Through

touring exhibitions and by making loans to other

institutions, the intention is to give access to the

best o modern and contemporary British art to

organisations, large and small, in all corners o

the nation.

How large is the Collection?

The Collection owns over 7,500 works by

nearly 2,000 artists. The Collection continues

to make new acquisitions every year. The

Collections holdings can be viewed on line at

www.artscouncilcollection.org.uk.

Where can I see the Collection?

The Collection provides loans to museums, galleries,

and other public institutions such as universities,

colleges, schools, charities, libraries and hospitals.

In the past three years 1,305 works have been seenin exhibitions and a urther 1,227 were displayed in

public buildings across the country.

Visit www.artscouncilcollection.org.uk

to nd out more about us and to search our

holdings online.

A ull list o Arts Council Collection and HaywardGallery Publications may be obtained rom the

Publication Sales Manager, Deborah Power:

[email protected]

ISBN no. 978-1-85332-290-7

Who runs the Collection?

The Collection is managed by Southbank

Centre on behal o Arts Council England (ACE).

Collection sta are based in London and at

Longside, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, where the

sculpture collection is housed.How can you borrow from the Collection?

The Collection is always happy to consider

requests rom public institutions to borrow

work. Enquiries can be made by emailing

[email protected] or by telephoning

020 7960 5218. Further inormation about our

dierent loan schemes is available rom our website.

How are new acquisitions made?

The Acquisitions Committee is chaired by the Head

o the Collection. Every two years, three individuals

are invited to advise the internal members o thecommittee on the purchase o work. Over the

past decade, this panel has included some o

the countrys leading artists, writers, critics and

curators rom every part o Great Britain.

What is the annual acquisitions budget?

The annual acquisitions budget is typically around

180,000, which is occasionally supplemented

by additional external unding or exceptional

works o art. The Collection holds key works by

such luminaries as Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud,

Damien Hirst, Bridget Riley and Anthony Gormley,all acquired at early but critical points in their

artistic careers.

Changing Britain:

Portcullis House 1 June 1 July 2010

Exhibition organised by Jill Constantine with

Monika McConnell, Andy Craig and Greg Salter.

Text Jill Constantine.

Cover Image Tony Ray-Jones, Brighton Beach,1967 Tony Ray-Jones collection at the National

Media Museum/ SSPL

All images the artists or artists estates

unless otherwise stated.