V & A
( The Victoria and Albert Museum of the Decorative Arts in London is one of the
most exciting places in the world).
In your note of 22/2 you said that you had visited the V & A in the hope of
seeing prints by Demachy and Puyo.
You said 'Rien ou presque'
I went yesterday in the hope of seeing the 'presque' but it was more a case of
'rien'.
The V & A take the view that as the RPS at Bath has such a fine collection,
which is true,
there is little point in the V & A trying to emulate them.
This strikes me as being analogous to saying that as the Science Museum has such
a wonderful collection of photographs, also true, there is no reason why the V &
A should keep them. My suspicion is that somebody has a prejudice.
Despite this, the V & A should be regarded as a mecca. The staff in the Print
Room are knowledgeable, helpful and kind. I was shown the book arising from the
photography section of the 1862 International Exhibition which contains
photo-etchings and photoglyphs by Fox Talbot, photogalvanographs by Pretsch,
there may be a 'z' in there somewhere, and a print on yellow paper by Pouncy,
printed with ink direct from the negative, presumably an early collotype.
I met someone from Nebraska who told me that she had spent six days of her
holiday in the print room wallowing in its riches. Incidentally, there appears
to a strong alternative photography group in Nebraska that has not appeared on
the list since I haver been here, maybe it has but I did not recognise the name.
It was as much a pleasure seeing how young students and old 'scholars' were
given the same friendly and helpful service and how they were appreciating it.
I stress this point as I am told that this presents a marked contrast with the
way enquirers are treated at the Biblioteque Nationale in Paris where it is a
Kafkaesque exercise to obtain access to a Puyo. Having had to gird my loins to
deal with French officialdom in the past, I do not find this surprising, but is
it true.
Does anyone know if there have been further developments in relation to the germ
of an idea as to a' function' in Paris in May.
A point also worth considering that might be the start of a new thread, is why
the RPS which is a repository of photogrphic history,( I nearly put my coffee
cup down on a Niepce once), gets no lottery money and the Photographers Gallery
which represents only that very narrow group of photographers whose work accords
with the viewpoint of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, gets grants quite out
of proportion to its significance.
I am not knocking the PG but some equity and common sense might be in order.
Terry King