James Ravilious
An English Eye
National Theatre
London
SE1
May 2009
One of the great unknowns of British Photography, James Ravilious (1939-1999), son of the water-colourist and engraver Eric Ravilious, dedicated his art to a small area of North Devon.
Few people have so evocatively captured our countryside as James Ravilious in his photographs of the people and landscapes of North Devon...
Although Ravilious, son of the English artist Eric, admired Cartier-Bresson, he had little interest in "decisive moments", unrepeatable instants randomly snapped by the camera. The purpose of the art, for Ravilious, was commemoration, the preservation of memories we can all share. One of his photographs shows a surrogate for Ravilious solemnly at work, devoted to the task despite her clumsy amateurism. An old woman, dressed up in her bravest finery with a hat pinned to her permed grey curls, aims her ancient boxy camera at some unseen spectacle that she wants to fix forever. The caption reveals the occasion: this was the day of the royal wedding in 1981, when the nation rejoiced.
If you're interested you can see some of his photos on Google images.
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I saw this exhibition too. I loved it and would recommend anyone who didn't see it to have a look at his work. He documented life in Devon where he lived, people and places he knew intimately. Very unpretentious, beautiful black and white photography.
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