RON MCCORMICK Southend on Sea 1972

Description

RON MCCORMICK Southend on Sea 1972

RON MCCORMICK Southend on Sea 1972 is a Café Royal Books publication.

Southend on Sea 1972, first published in 2022, is 14cm x 20cm and has 36 black and white pages.

Two Views, Southend on Sea

Two Views was an innovative project initiated in 1972 by Barry Lane, Photography Officer at the then Arts Council of Great Britain, whereby eight photographers would be commissioned to make photographs in eight British Towns. Each photographer was assigned two towns to explore and each town would be photographed by two photographers. The resulting photographs would later be exhibited in a public venue in the town presenting the different personal perceptions about the place and perhaps shed light on the varied approaches and working methods employed by the two photographers that had been selected.

The photographers were paired but not encouraged to work together and often never met or even knew the name of the other person photographing the same town. Photographers came from diverse backgrounds with experience ranging from seasoned photojournalists and experienced professionals to relatively new photographers who were beginning to make a name in the world of photography and art, the selected photographers even include a recent graduate from a British photography school.

Ron McCormick

Ron McCormick was commissioned to photograph Southend on Sea in Essex, a seaside holiday resort and the East Londoner’s playground, and also Oldham in Lancashire, an industrial town that rose to prominence in the industrial revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries through mining and the development of the textile manufacture that by the second half of the19th century, was to make it the preeminent cotton spinning capital of the world.

McCormick had himself only 18 months previously, completed a post-graduate programme in painting at the Royal Academy Schools where following seven years of study in Fine Art he had made a profound shift of direction to working with photography and by 1972 had already exhibited his photographs in London’s Serpentine Gallery and Whitechapel Art Gallery and was working as a documentary photographer and photojournalist for several national publications.

In the Oldham project, he was paired with Kevin Keegan a young photographer who had just completed his studies at Trent Polytechnic. In Southend, his opposite number was Josef Koudelka a member of the Magnum Photo Agency who had covered the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia but was resident in Britain from 1968. The exhibition TWO VIEWS, Southend on Sea was shown at the Beecroft Art Gallery, Southend in 1973.

Café Royal Books

Café Royal Books is an independent publishing house set up by Craig Atkinson in 2005. He is based in Southport, England. CRB release regular publications with the broad subject of British Documentary Photography since 1960. This includes international photographers who work within the British Isles. Alongside photographers from the British Isles who work internationally. There are a few exceptions, with titles that sit alongside this general theme.

This type of work has historically been neglected by both photographers and institutions. Café Royal Books aim is to source, gather, and re/present this work as a collective whole. And, thus, give it a wider audience. CRB publish at least one title every week, presenting, generally, one series by one photographer.

The books combine elements of zines, photobooks, artist books and educational resource. The books are affordable, democratic, utilitarian and useful. They come out regularly and in small editions. So, great to collect.

Have a look at the selection of Café Royal Books we have in stock.