Below is the result of an exhibition I went to see in 2013, but the quality is so good that I would like to continue airing it to a wider audience.
James Ravilious/Colin Robins/Oliver Uby
Plymouth University, Roland Levinsky Building, Saturday 20th July 2013
In this blog I am only covering the work of James Ravilious.
If you have even the faintest love of farming, or even just rural life then go onto Flickr & type in ‘James Ravilious’ to view a cross-section of his work. Alternatively, I strongly recommend visiting www.beafordarchive.org.uk which contains 1700 digitised Ravilious images and is the most comprehensive online collection of his work.
This first image was the last thing I covered in my notes, but it has to have pride of place in this blog. Such an incredibly emotive image. Sadly, as good as it is, you have to see the full-sized image to fully appreciate the raw intensity.
IVOR BROCK RESCUING A LAMB IN A BLIZZARD, Millham, Dolton, Devon. Feb 1978.
What struck me most about this image, technicalities aside, was the intensity of Ivor’s eyes. It’s bleak, it’s bitter, he’s woefully under dressed & he’s covered in snow. There is nothing romantic or heroic about this image, it is not staged for the photographer. What you see in his eyes is just the sheer determination to do the job at hand.
One technique which I found that JR used to great effect is not present here, and for good reason. In many of his photographs he uses objects within the frame to ‘sub-frame’ if you like, to focus & give strength to the subject matter. It also makes you feel as though you are seeing something special, something that you have maybe not been invited to see (see next image). Here however we are seeing ‘in your face’ life. The viewer is there, sharing the hardship, not merely observing. The feeling I get is that if he came across another ewe & lamb in distress, is that it would be ‘camera down and muck in’.
REGINALD RICE PREPARING A GRAVE IN BEAFORD CHURCHYARD, Beaford, Devon. March 1976
This image is a great example of what I see as JR’s ‘sub-framing’. See how we are viewing Reg, it feels like we are hiding behind a tree. Reg is viewed between the corrugated sheet & the trunk of a tree. It can be described as a framed picture within a framed picture. We haven’t been invited but we will get a view of this man at work. This technique gives a unique feel to the photograph & adds another dimension to photography itself. Clearly we are invited, as Reg is looking towards the camera, but in spite of this we have these strong feelings.
PICNICKERS IN THE PARK, Torrington, Devon. June 1974
A very well thought out photo. This time there are two trees forming a frame within a frame. At the base of the left hand tree we see the obvious picnic, but within the two trees are neatly sat three people. I feel that solely because of the two trees framing these people we are prompted to either ask ourselves, assume or accept that these people are also having a picnic. Just because they are not sitting on the grass or don’t have a Gingham tablecloth we almost overlook them because of the title of the photograph. A great photograph brilliantly constructed.
CHILDREN SWIMMING BESIDE DOLTON MILL, River Torridge, Dolton Devon. June 1979.
This seems very clever to me.The image is split into two halves, a light half & a dark half. The subject matter falls within the dark half, but the natural light tones of the children’s skin makes them stand out of the gloom. This would not work in reverse, as the subject matter would be in danger of becoming a silhouette, losing much of the detail.
Once again there is this feeling of being the unobserved observer. I think this is the holy grail for photographers. Even some aged pro’s struggle with this. I read once that one ‘Life magazine’ pro asked another how he was able to apparently take photo’s without anybody noticing him. He said that he used to think of himself as invisible before stepping out of the door or into the studio & the rest just happened!
MRS. OKE CHECKING SHEEP, Deckport, Devon. June 1977.
In this image JR has made use of the natural window into the sheep field. We are being encouraged to look through the window by following Mrs. Oke’s gaze. This is in spite of the fact that Mrs. Oke is the main object of interest & detail in this image. This shows how a viewer’s eye can be encouraged to travel around & explore a whole photograph instead of solely viewing the obvious before moving on to the next image. This is done by making use of the inferred eye-line.
I’m going to go back now to the types of images that do not require a ‘sub-frame’.
ARCHIE PARKHOUSE & IVOR BROCK SHELTERING FROM THE SNOW, Millhams, Dolton, April 1975.
Does it need words? I don’t think so! Genius!
At the gallery there is a contact sheet of six consecutive images (this one included). Each is strong enough to stand alone or strung together as a composite image.
Even JR’s later pictures (circa 1987) have an old feel to them. I wonder, if in 1987 he was deliberately shooting to give a bygone age feel to his images, or was he doing that back in 72 as well? Or, by the eighties did he feel that he needed to give some continuity to this lengthy project? There is a paragraph in the gallery which points out that some of these images were shot a mere twenty-five years ago, alluding to the fact that in certain areas of Devon, life is desperately hanging on to an older, simpler way of living.
Seven images from a selection of about fifty. Much more of James Ravilious’ work can be seen by going to http://www.beaford-arts.org.uk
THE FRIEND FAMILY BURNING RUBBISH IN THE CHURCHYARD. Dolton, Devon. Dec 1983
Priceless!
All photographs by James Ravilious© Beaford Arts, digitally scanned from Beaford Archive negatives.
Seven images from a selection of about fifty. Much more of James Ravilious’ work can be seen by going to http://www.beaford-arts.org.uk
I see! 