19 Swincross Road, Stourbridge, 1979, 1979
John Myers' remarkabe work from the 1970s deserves to be far better known and happily this is becoming the case following a major Ikon Gallery touring show in 2011-12 (and handsome accompanying catalogue), entitled Middle England.
A version of this show in 2014, travelled to Dublin, under the witty explanatory title: John Myers 33 portraits, 14 Boring photographs, 10 televisions, 8 sub stations, 6 houses, 3 furniture stores and one giraffe.
Francis Hodgson at the time of these exhibitions declared:
"John Myers is a fine British photographer of great interest but precious little renown. He worked with originality and a deep appreciation of the photographic culture beyond his immediate circle, at a time when there was little institutional help for people of his stamp, and it is not much of an exaggeration to say that he has come close to being forgotten in the years since his major output...
... it is a pleasure to acknowledge the scholarship, loyalty and hard work of Pete James and Jonathan Watkins (leading a group of others) who have managed to recover a reputation which might otherwise have been lost.
I do feel that we in Britain are culpable in this regard. I can't prove it, but it seems unthinkable that a photographer of the calibre of Myers could have been so largely overlooked in the Netherlands, in France, in Finland or Germany, in the United States"
Francis Hodgson at the time of these exhibitions declared:
"John Myers is a fine British photographer of great interest but precious little renown. He worked with originality and a deep appreciation of the photographic culture beyond his immediate circle, at a time when there was little institutional help for people of his stamp, and it is not much of an exaggeration to say that he has come close to being forgotten in the years since his major output...
... it is a pleasure to acknowledge the scholarship, loyalty and hard work of Pete James and Jonathan Watkins (leading a group of others) who have managed to recover a reputation which might otherwise have been lost.
I do feel that we in Britain are culpable in this regard. I can't prove it, but it seems unthinkable that a photographer of the calibre of Myers could have been so largely overlooked in the Netherlands, in France, in Finland or Germany, in the United States"