from the series 'A1 - The Great North Road', 1981-82
Paul Graham was the first photographer to unite contemporary colour photography with the classic genre of social documentary. Born in the 1950s, Graham chose to dedicate himmself to photography at a time when the medium was predominantly excluded from the art world; he is now considered one of the most significant photographers of his generation. He has been nominated for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2009 (his work and that of the other three shortlisted photographers will be exhibited at the Photographers' Gallery, London this spring) and a major survey of his work from the past 25 years will be on view at the Folkwang Museum, Essen from 24 January.
In 1981/2 Paul Graham made 'A1--The Great North Road', a series of colour photographs from along the length of the British A1 road, which had a transformative effect on the black and white tradition that had dominated British art photography to that point. This work, along with his other photographs of the 1980's - the colour images of unemployment offices in 'Beyond Caring' (1984-85), and the sectarian marked landscape of Northern Ireland in 'Troubled Land' (1984-86) - were pivotal in reinvigorating and expanding this area of photographic practice, by both broadening it's visual language, and questioning how such photography might operate. Photographers like Martin Parr made the switch to colour soon after, and a new school of British Photography evolved with the subsequent colour work of Richard Billingham, Tom Wood, Paul Seawright, Anna Fox, Simon Norfolk, Julian Germain, Nick Waplington.
Since then Graham has continued to explore the fertile territory where the documentary and artistic aspects of photography coalesce, often tackling difficult subject matter for a medium that is firmly based in the observable world. 'New Europe' (1988-1993) used a poetic flow of images to look at the tension between the shadow of history and the rush to an economic superstate in Western Europe. 'Empty Heaven' (1989-1995), considers the relationship between historical trauma and the childish fantasy world in Japan - themes that would later become central to the "Superflat" movement of contemporary Japanese art. More recently his work has reflected an examination of what we expect from a photographic image, be it a portrait - as in the hard:soft images of young people in 'End of an Age' (1996-98); or questioning what actually registers in our vision, with 'American Night' (1998-2003), which mirrored the social fracture of American society through deliberately overexposed, near invisible white images. Most recently Graham completed 'A Shimmer of Possibility' (2004-2007) that reflects everyday moments of American lives, whilst also examining photography's ability to compress or expand time, utilising flowing sequences of images.
from 'American Night', 1998-2003
At a time when art photography is increasingly staged (Jeff Wall, Gregory Crewdson, Thomas Demand) or holds the world at a conceptualized distant view (Andreas Gursky, Berndt and Hilla Becher, Thomas Struth), Paul Graham's work distinguishes itself by retaining a firm and full commitment to life as it unfolds; to an understanding that at its core photography begins with an unblinking engagement with the world. Embracing this crucial axiom of photography Graham has been vital in reinvigorating this central area of practice, both by broadening photography's visual language, and, essentially, by questioning our notions of what such photography could say, be, or look like.
To coincide with the exhibition at the Folkwang Museum in Essen (touring to Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Whitechapel Gallery, London), Steidl is publishing a book of Graham's photography from 1981 to 2006. For more information on the book click here.
Paul Graham
24 January - 5 April
Folkwang Museum
Essen
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