We are thrilled to have co-published the new John Myers (*1944) monograph, The World is Not Beautiful in partnership with University of Hertfordshire Galleries. Over the past few weeks this book has become our finest social media sensation! Our twitter feed has been inundated with praise and recommendations for Myers’ photography.
It seems that, after 40 years, John Myers’ work is finally receiving long over due attention and popularity. This surge of interest is particularly indicated by his major solo exhibition, Middle England at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham in 2012.
On the occasion of this exhibition, Francis Hodgson (Professor in the Culture of Photography, University of Brighton) wrote: “A set mainly of landscapes is called Boring Photos. They’re not boring at all, of course. They are an early but scrupulously well-crafted black-and-white precursor of that study of non-spaces which has become so much more common in colour. They owe something to American photography, but are not slavish copies at all. They have glorious titles: Lift Doors Waitrose 1975 or Factory Forecourt 1974. They’re clear antecedents to Martin Parr’s famous book of Boring Postcards, and they had just as much knowingness about them, even when they were made.”
Myers is now most well-known for his photography, however he’s also an accomplished painter and was formerly Senior Lecturer in Painting and Head of MA Painting at University of Wolverhampton. Since the early 1970s he has exhibited widely in the UK and Europe, and his work is featured in the prestigious The Photography Book, published by Phaidon (2014). Furthermore his work has also been written about in major newspapers such as The Guardian, The Independent, and the New York Times.
More recently (in 2008/10) Myers’ photography was included in Grayson Perry’s hugely popular self-curated exhibition, Unpopular Culture – a UK touring show which comprised a special selection of artworks from the Arts Council Collection.
‘The World is Not Beautiful’ – according to the title of Myers’ book. But the way he sees the world through the medium of photography is, arguably, rather beautiful. We hope you adore this book as much as we do. It’s a real gem.
Photo credit: (detail) Tye Gardens, Stourbridge, 1973