Graham Smith (photographer)
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Graham Smith is a photographer from Middlesbrough
, England, who was particularly active in photographing Middlesbrough and the northeast of England in the 1970s and 1980s.
Smith studied at the Middlesbrough College of Art
and later the Royal College of Art
(London). In the 1970s he was among the photographers central to the Side Gallery, and created a series of photographs that showed working-class people in the north of England that were in a documentary style but were in fact montages. Work from the 1980s would show people within townscapes, and in the words of David Alan Mellor
, were "atmospheric, steeped in popular (and personal) memory — dark, romantic places with all the melancholy attributed to Eugène Atget's familiar locations". Another Country, a joint exhibition with Chris Killip
held in London in 1985, was generally well reviewed but to some appeared passé in the light of the new "postmodern" work of Martin Parr
and others.
Smith curtailed his career as a photographer in 1990. Since then he has been a professional woodworker and has also written; his writing has appeared in Granta
.
Smith's photographs are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art
(New York), and the Victoria and Albert Museum
(London).
Graham Smith is a photographer from Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, England, who was particularly active in photographing Middlesbrough and the northeast of England in the 1970s and 1980s.
Smith studied at the Middlesbrough College of Art
Cleveland College of Art and Design
Cleveland College of Art & Design is a further and higher education art and design college, based in the north east of England. The college draws its name from the former non-metropolitan county of Cleveland, operational from 1974 to 1996.-Regional coverage:...
and later the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
(London). In the 1970s he was among the photographers central to the Side Gallery, and created a series of photographs that showed working-class people in the north of England that were in a documentary style but were in fact montages. Work from the 1980s would show people within townscapes, and in the words of David Alan Mellor
David Alan Mellor
David Alan Mellor is a British curator and professor of and writer on art.David Mellor — as he was called before he wanted to avoid confusion with the politician of the same name — studied art at Sussex University under Quentin Bell...
, were "atmospheric, steeped in popular (and personal) memory — dark, romantic places with all the melancholy attributed to Eugène Atget's familiar locations". Another Country, a joint exhibition with Chris Killip
Chris Killip
Christopher David Killip was born in Douglas, Isle of Man and in 1964 moved to London where he worked as an assistant to the advertising photographer Adrian Flowers. He soon went freelance, but in 1969 stopped his commercial work to concentrate on the photography that he wanted to do. In 1969 he...
held in London in 1985, was generally well reviewed but to some appeared passé in the light of the new "postmodern" work of Martin Parr
Martin Parr
Martin Parr is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take a critical look at aspects of modern life, in particular provincial and suburban life in England...
and others.
Smith curtailed his career as a photographer in 1990. Since then he has been a professional woodworker and has also written; his writing has appeared in Granta
Granta
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
.
Smith's photographs are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
(New York), and the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
(London).
Exhibitions
- Documents of the North East. With Sirkka-Liisa KonttinenSirkka-Liisa Konttinen-Life and work:Born in Myllykoski Finland in 1948, Konttinen studied photography in London in the 1960s, and cofounded the Amber collective, which moved to Newcastle....
, James Cleet, and Robert Carling. Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1977. - North Tyneside. With Isabella Jedrzejczyk, Markéta LuskačováMarkéta LuskacováMarkéta Luskačová is a Czech photographer known for her series of photographs taken in Slovakia, Britain and elsewhere. Considered one of the best Czech social photographers to date, since the 1990s she has photographed children in Czech Republic, Slovakia, and also Poland.- Biography :In 1968...
, and Sirkka-Liisa KonttinenSirkka-Liisa Konttinen-Life and work:Born in Myllykoski Finland in 1948, Konttinen studied photography in London in the 1960s, and cofounded the Amber collective, which moved to Newcastle....
. Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1981. - Consett Steel. Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1982.
- South Bank. Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1984.
- Another Country. With Chris KillipChris KillipChristopher David Killip was born in Douglas, Isle of Man and in 1964 moved to London where he worked as an assistant to the advertising photographer Adrian Flowers. He soon went freelance, but in 1969 stopped his commercial work to concentrate on the photography that he wanted to do. In 1969 he...
. Serpentine GallerySerpentine GalleryThe Serpentine Gallery is an art gallery in Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, central London. It focuses on modern and contemporary art. The exhibitions, architecture, education and public programmes attract approximately 750,000 visitors a year...
(London), 1985. - Quayside. With Sirkka-Liisa KonttinenSirkka-Liisa Konttinen-Life and work:Born in Myllykoski Finland in 1948, Konttinen studied photography in London in the 1960s, and cofounded the Amber collective, which moved to Newcastle....
. Touring exhibition from the Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1994. - No Such Thing as Society: Photography in Britain 1968–1987. Aberystwyth Arts CentreAberystwyth Arts CentreAberystwyth Arts Centre is one of Wales' busiest and largest arts centres, based on Aberystwyth University's Penglais campus Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales...
; Tullie House, Carlisle; Ujazdów CastleUjazdów CastleUjazdów Castle is a castle in the historic Ujazdów district, between Ujazdów Park and the Royal Baths Park , in Warsaw, Poland.-History:...
, Warsaw; Smith is one of a number of photographers shown. - Three from Britain. With Chris KillipChris KillipChristopher David Killip was born in Douglas, Isle of Man and in 1964 moved to London where he worked as an assistant to the advertising photographer Adrian Flowers. He soon went freelance, but in 1969 stopped his commercial work to concentrate on the photography that he wanted to do. In 1969 he...
and Martin ParrMartin ParrMartin Parr is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take a critical look at aspects of modern life, in particular provincial and suburban life in England...
. Rose Gallery, Santa Monica, March–May 2008.