John Blakemore archive
Archive reference MS 2372
The archive includes exhibition prints and smaller reference prints, spanning Blakemore’s career from his first photographs made in Libya in 1956 through to large colour works exhibited in 2002. It represents not only the final photographs exhibited or published, but also allows for a comparative study of the artist’s development, especially through the inclusion of some pairs of prints made from the same negative at a distance of several years, and the rich selection of hand-made books beginning with his first, made in 1984, and including others made within recent years.
Unlike many photographers John Blakemore makes reference or “work” prints which are processed with the same attention to image quality and archival permanence as his exhibition prints. They are effectively finished prints in a smaller format. In addition to the photographs, this archive contains extensive preparatory works for John Blakemore’s books, writings, letters, reviews and exhibition catalogues. The inclusion of these, together with notebooks and ‘planbooks’ outlining concepts for exhibition and publication designs, expands on the methodology behind the sequential nature of many of John Blakemore’s finished works.
The archive therefore provides not only a comprehensive collection of the artist’s best-known work, and a unique collection of his hand-made books, but also offers a valuable research collection which allows for a more in-depth study of the development of his practise.
The archive includes:
- Early Documentary Portraits (1986 to 1988)
- Landscape Photographs (1970 to 1981)
- Still Life Photographs (1980 to 2004)
- Tulipmania, Tulipa and other Tulip Studies (1980 to 2004)
- The Luminous Garden (1998 to 2002), earlier expressive colour works (1965 to 1968) and Polaroids (1980s)
- Hand-made Books and Portfolios
- Portfolios: Z15 (30 x 30), Zelda Cheatle Gallery
- John Blakemore – Early Landscapes, Hoopers Gallery, 2004
- Work Prints, Writings, Notebooks, Preparatory Books, Letters, Catalogues and Ephemera.
John Blakemore has a number of ongoing / future projects which will, in time be added to the archive at no additional cost. These include a substantial body of colour work, ‘Stargazer’ and three hand-made books amongst others.
