PHRC | at De Montfort University
On the third Thursday of every month, we proudly host the Photographic History (PHRC) Takeover—a day when academics and students from the PHRC (based here at DMU) share their expertise and insights on our remarkable photographic collections.
For this installment we’re thrilled to feature Professor Kelley Wilder, Director of the PHRC, as she introduces us to the Photographers’ Gallery, an extensive library held as part of our special collections.
A bit of London in Leicester: The Photographers’ Gallery collection
In 2012 The Photographers’ Gallery moved to its new building on Ramillies Street in Soho, London, but the new building did not have room for its extensive library of exhibition catalogues and monographs. Today’s blog is about the more than 50 catalogues of photography exhibitions generously donated to the DMU Special Collections. Books and catalogues from this collection can all be found on the main Library Catalogue under the call number Photographers’ Gallery 779.
Above: a section of the Photographers Gallery in the Special Collections reader room.
I went browsing the other day (ok, I admit, it was procrastinating) for a few gems to share with you. The first one I pulled out was Calderdale Photographs by Martin Parr.
Above: Cover of Martin Parr's Calderdale Photographs exhibition catalogue. Halifax: Calderdale Museums Service, 1984.
This catalogue of photographs made in Hebden Bridge between 1974-1980 accompanied an exhibition at the Piece Hall Art Gallery in Halifax in 1984. Many of the images, like ‘Steep Lane Anniversary Buffet Lunch’ and ‘Meeting of the Ancient Order of Henpecked Husbands, Nazebottom Chapel’ formed part of his large body of work called ‘The Non-Conformists'.
Above: Pages 2 & 3 from the catalogue. Left: ‘Steep Lane Anniversary Buffet Lunch’. Right: ‘Meeting of the Ancient Order of Henpecked Husbands, Nazebottom Chapel’.
I remember seeing Parr’s photographs for the first time at the George Eastman House in 1985, and for weeks producing grainy black and white observations of high school detention, play rehearsals, and lunch-room drama, much to the dismay of my photography teacher.
The Photographers’ Gallery exhibited Parr’s work from Hebden Bridge in 1977 in an exhibition titled ‘Hebden Bridge and Beauty Spot’, and would go on to show several important bodies of his work, including ‘Bad Weather’, and ‘Cost of Living’ over the following decade. More of Parr’s catalogues can be found at the Martin Parr Foundation.
The Photographers’ Gallery, founded in 1971 by Sue Davies (1933-2020) OBE and Honourable Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society (and who would have celebrated her 92nd birthday on April 14th), has consistently supported international photographers and fostered emerging talent at home and abroad. You can see some of their exhibitions at their Anniversary web exhibition 50 Exhibitions for 50 Years. Their support takes the form not only of exhibitions and photography prizes like the Deutsche Börse Foundation Photography Prize, but in collecting learning materials. The DMU exhibition catalogue collection demonstrates this commitment to photography in all its forms, containing a wealth of smaller exhibition catalogues from around the globe spanning the 1970s through the1990s. Catalogues like Democratic Vistas, a 1994 exhibition from Houston Center for Photography in Texas, or a small catalogue of photographs by Mario Giacomelli with Italian poetry by Francescesco Permunian, published in 1983.
Above Left: Cover of Democratic Vistas by Ben Edwards. Houston: Houston Center for Photography, 1994. Above Right: Cover of Mario Giacomelli a retrospective by the artist. Cardiff: Ffotogallery, 1983.
There is also one by Swiss Photographer Catherine Gfeller from a 1999 exhibition at Galerie Carzaniga + Ueker in Basel.
Above: Cover of Catherine Gfeller Catalogue. Basel: Galerie Carzaniga + Ueker, 1999.
They are too numerous to detail them all here, but you are welcome to make an appointment at DMU special collections and look through them. It’s quite a fulfilling way to procrastinate and an excellent teaching tool. Thank you to the Phographers’ Gallery for their generosity.
Thank you, Kelley, for another fascinating focus on the world of photographic history. The Photographers' Gallery is popular with staff and students alike and is used for teaching, research and browsing for archive inspiration! If you would like to view any of the items in our collections, please visit our website to book an appointment. Don’t miss next month’s PHRC Blog Takeover.
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