''Camerawork'' (1976–1985) was a British bi-monthly photography magazine promoting

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

photography. It was based in London.

History

Half Moon Photography Workshop, a collective of photographers, initiated community photography education, Half Moon Gallery and publishing activities in the East End in the early 1970s, and out of this grew the magazine ''Camerawork,'' from which the collective then took its name, established in 1976 by

Jo Spence Jo Spence (15 June 1934, London – 24 June 1992, Camden) was a British photographer, writer, cultural worker, and photo therapist. She began her career in the field of commercial photography but soon started her own agency which specialised ...

with the socialist historian of photography Terry Dennett. They were joined on the cooperative editorial team for the first edition (February 1976), themed 'The Politics of Photography', by Tony Bock, Roger Eaton, Mike Goldwater, Janet Goldberg, Marilyn Noad, Tom Picton, George Solomonides, and Paul Trevor, with writings by Terry Dennett, Tom Picton, Jo Spence, and Paul Trevor and pictures by Nick Hedges, Ron McCormick, Larry Herman,

Chris Searle Chris Searle (born 1 January 1944) is a British educator, poet, anti-racist activist, and socialist. He has written widely on cricket, language, jazz, race, and social justice, and has taught in Canada, England, Tobago, Mozambique, and Grenada. ...

, Exit,

Helmut Newton Helmut Newton (né Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''The New York Times, New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically ch ...

, and Claire Schwob. Subsequent editions were also themed, with often controversial topics. The group moved to a new gallery also named Camerawork, on Roman Road in 1977 – a space now used by arts charity Four Corners.

Origins

Coming out of the 1960s protests and

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

, documentary photography in the 1970s, ''Camerawork'''s humanist, leftist stance and preference for politically 'committed' or 'activist' photography was established from the first issue, in which the editorial read; The magazine promoted several photographer collectives; the

Hackney Flashers The Hackney Flashers were a collective of broadly socialist-feminist women who produced notable agitprop exhibitions in the 1970s and early 1980s. Working in the United Kingdom during second wave feminism (1960s–1980s), the Hackney Flashers are ...

, Union Place and the Exit Group of

Chris Steele-Perkins Christopher Horace Steele-Perkins (born 28 July 1947) is a British photographer and member of Magnum Photos, best known for his depictions of Africa, Afghanistan, England, Northern Ireland, and Japan. Life and career Steele-Perkins was born in R ...

, Nicholas Battye and Paul Trevor. The magazine folded in 1985, with no. 32, summer 1985.

Legacy

The ''Camerawork'' archives are held by Four Corners, the

Photography and the Archive Research Centre Photography and the Archive Research Centre (PARC) is a defunct organisation in London that commissioned new research into photography and culture, curated and produced exhibitions and publications, organised seminars, study days, symposia and co ...

(PARC) at the

University of the Arts London The University of the Arts London is a public collegiate university in London, England, United Kingdom. It specialises in arts, design, fashion, and the performing arts. The university is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of ...

(UAL) and The Bishopsgate Institute. Four Corners Digital Archive makes all copies of ''Camerawork'' available to view online as well as resources covering Four Corners and Half Moon Photography Workshop (later Camerawork) for the period 1972 to 1987: oral histories, film and audio archive, and more than 3000 examples selected from exhibitions, posters, press releases and ephemera.Four Corners Digital Archive
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References

{{Reflist 1976 establishments in the United Kingdom 1985 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Defunct photography magazines published in the United Kingdom Bi-monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Humanist photography Left-wing politics in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1976 Magazines disestablished in 1985 Defunct magazines published in London