“Only in England” explores the
connection between the work of the British photographers Tony Ray-Jones
(1941-72) and Martin Parr (1951- ). Whilst Parr has established himself with an
international reputation for his satirical approach to the social
anthropological portrayal of his subjects, both bland and bizarre, Ray-Jones’
untimely death from leukaemia at the age of 30 prevented him from developing a
reputation and securing an audience for his own work away from professional
photographic circles. However, his work influenced the young Martin Parr and it
is fitting that this exhibition, which depicts both photographers’ views of the
conventions and absurdities of the English at play in the 1960s (Ray-Jones) and
late 1970s (Parr), should re-establish Ray-Jones as an early and arguably very
important influence on the street photographers who followed in his footsteps.
This is the first exhibition to
be held in the “Media Space”, a new photography exhibition space to be found in
the Science Museum, Kensington. The space consists of a single large room which
is split into sections by the use of wooden-framed display boards upon which
roughly 50% of the photographic prints are displayed (the remaining prints are
displayed around the walls of the room). Negotiating the prints in the right
order (if such an order existed) proved problematical, but basically walking
from the entry point at one end of the room slowly towards the other end
appears to take the viewer through the photographs in roughly the order in
which the exhibition was conceived.
The exhibition starts with some of Ray-Jones’ best known and
most influential photographs from the late 1960s of the English at leisure. His
work is social documentary: mainly candid shots of ordinary people taken at the
seaside, at beauty pageants and in caravan parks but also photographs taken at
Glyndebourne and Eton College. He captures the quintessential “Englishness” of
the period at a time when few others were interested in this type of work. His
portrayal of the rituals and the grim determination of the English to enjoy their
leisure time produce a feeling of pathos as we look back at those times,
although it is difficult to guess what the public would have felt then if they
had seen this exhibition. Most of Ray-Jones’ photographs catch his subjects
unawares, enabling us to find mild amusement in the juxtaposition of their
expressions and behaviours.
Whilst Ray-Jones’ photographs
date from the late 1960s his subject matter seems to have been selected to
represent a way of life that was hanging on from the post-war period and the
1950s. Occasionally we are allowed a glimpse of the future: my favourite
photograph from the exhibition (“Beachy Head Ferry, 1967; see below) is one
such example. The focal point of the photograph is a young couple embracing,
whilst surrounding them a disparate group of other passengers stares out of the
frame in different directions, studiously ignoring the couple whilst showing no
sign of interaction with each other. The young couple appear as harbingers of a
new, more liberated era which would blow away many of the old traditions.
Ray-Jones’ acute insight and understanding of the English and their unique
behaviour and his ability to convert this insight into atmospheric photographs
marks him out as one of the first great English social documentary photographers.
Tragically, his early death robbed us of the chance to see his work mature and
develop.
Tony Ray-Jones: "Beachy Head Ferry" (1967)
The middle section from the
exhibition features Martin Parr’s first major body of work: “The
Non-conformists”. Shot in black and white (as was all of Ray-Jones’ work) in
and around Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire between 1975 and 1979, Parr’s work is a
portrait of the Methodist Greenwood family. Like Ray-Jones, Parr reveals
through his photographs the erosion of the traditional ways of life, although
in this case within an isolated community. In general his work is less
cluttered and more sympathetic than that of Ray-Jones (he had the permission of
the Greenwood family to explore their way of life and photograph them) and
relies more on compositional ploys and simplicity to create a strong mood and
period atmosphere. Those who are familiar with the brash, garish, sardonic
colour photographs of Parr’s (very successful) later years may be quite
surprised to see the subtlety and empathy that a young man, fresh out of
Manchester Polytechnic, brought to his portrayal of community life. The
exhibition of his work is a worthy counterweight to Ray-Jones’ work, which
clearly influenced the young Martin Parr.
The final section features 60
prints of previously unseen Ray-Jones images selected by Martin Parr after Parr
had spent five days wading through 2500 contact sheets of Ray-Jones’ English
work that are held by the National Media Museum, Bradford. Parr says about his
selection: “…. I feel the spatial awareness of his work came to the fore. He
has the ability to make multi-layered images, where every element falls into place.
The gaps between the components of the image have as big a role to play as the
subject matter itself….” Certainly there are some arresting images in this
selection, although none quite convey the mood and atmosphere of nostalgia that
I felt when I perused the first section of Ray-Jones’ work.
Additionally, the exhibition
features some of Ray-Jones’ notebooks and lists, which incorporate useful
advice (aimed at himself), such as “DO NOT TAKE BORING PHOTOGRAPHS” (he
didn’t!).
The combination of early work by
one of our leading contemporary photographers and examples of the major work of
a photographer who would, had he not died at a very early age, have become one
of our leading photographers provides a fitting introduction to a new gallery
for photographic exhibitions. The exhibition also provides a “must see”
experience for photographers who are interested in developing their skills in
the genre of documentary photography and social anthropology, as well as
representing a fascinating insight into the lives and customs of the English in
the 1960s and 1970s.
Learning Points,
Future Work and References:
Tony Ray-Jones’ advice not to take boring photographs is
still true today. If every photograph that I took (and kept!) had a purpose and
significance that could be communicated visually I would be a far better
photographer.
Studying the reasons why the interactions between people are
captured so successfully by both photographers could help me in my photography
of the interactions of people with birds.
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