Red Saunders (born 28 December 1945 in London) is a British photographer and director. Saunders was one of the founders of

Rock Against Racism Rock Against Racism (RAR) was a political and cultural movement which emerged in 1976 in reaction to a rise in racist attacks on the streets of the United Kingdom and increasing support for the far-right National Front at the ballot box. Betwe ...

Life

Saunders was born in late December 1945 in London. As a young

mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US * ...

in the 1960s he joined the underground theatre group CAST.
Artist’s Questionnaire with Red Saunders
'. In: hiddenschoolstour.files.wordpress.com, June 2013. From 1963 until 1965 he served a photographic apprenticeship at the ad agencies G.S.Royds and S.H.Bensons as well as the Gilchrist studios, London.

'. In: redsaundersphoto.eu, access date 25 May 2020. He later studied at

Polytechnic of Central London The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Au ...

and worked for G.S.Royds at the Photo de Seine studio in Paris. Saunders then became assistant for ad photographers Jimmy Wormser and Lou Long. In 1967 he went to the middle east on behalf of the

Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation The Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation, established in 1963, continues the work of the philosopher and activist Bertrand Russell in the areas of peace, social justice, and human rights, with a specific focus on the dangers of nuclear war. Ken Coates ...

, documenting the events in the wake of the

Six-day war The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. After a short stint at GM studio Saunders worked for the

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

since 1969. In the 1970s he focused on assignments for ad clients, editorial jobs and publishers in the UK, Europe and the US. His photographs were used on various

album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released album, studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to: * the printed paperboard covers typically used to package: ** sets of a ...

s for artists like

Suzi Quatro Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of singles that found success in Europe and Australia, with both "Can the Can" (1973) and "Devil Gate Drive" ...

Jean-Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the Electronic music, electronic, Ambient music, ambient and New-age music, new-age genres, and is known for organising out ...

Seething Wells Seething Wells is a neighbourhood in southwest London on the border between Surbiton in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in Greater London, and Elmbridge in Surrey. The area was historically a waterworks that supplied London with wate ...

Benjamin Zephaniah Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023) was a British writer, dub poet, actor, musician and professor of poetry and creative writing. Over his lifetime, he was awarded 20 honorary doctorates in recognition of his c ...

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, musician, television presenter, artist and retired stand-up comedian. He is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his idiosyncratic and of ...

Big Country Big Country are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although they have retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music inc ...

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. In the late 1970s he delivered pictures for publications such as The Sunday Times Magazine, Time Out,

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

, GQ,

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. Since 1983 he published or co-published several photo books like ''24 Hours in the Life of Los Angeles / Olympic City '84'' and ''A Day in the Life of London''. In 1976 Saunders together with Roger Huddle founded

. In 1985 he founded Short Circuit Films, where he produced and directed the short film ''The End'', the six part production ''The Gift'' for BBC Wales and ''White Girls on Dope'' for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

. Glenn Carwithen and Saunders also directed several ''Autumn Graphics'' ad spots for Channel 4, which were awarded a ''Yellow Pencil'' at the

D&AD Design and Art Direction (D&AD), formerly known as British Design and Art Direction, is a British educational organisation that was created in 1962 to promote excellence in design and advertising. Its main offices are in Spitalfields in London. ...

Awards 1993. In 1993 Saunders studio and most of his work was destroyed by an

arsonist Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, waterc ...

, which led to a three year hiatus. In 1996 he again started to direct ad spots. In 1999 he also returned to photography, focusing on more personal themes and also starting to use digital imaging methods. Beginning in 2008 Saunders concentrated on his ''Hidden'' project, creating large format

tableaux vivants A (; often shortened to ; ; ) is a static scene (performing arts), scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or theatrical scenery, scenery, and may be s ...

(„living pictures“) of the age-long fight for democracy and social justice. Saunders aims to reproduce historic scenes but this time showing dissenters, revolutionaries, radicals and non-conformists.
Red Saunders: Hidden
' In: impressions-gallery.com, access date 25 May 2020.Julia Coulton:
Manchester photography: Red Saunders’ digital “tableaux” of a political past
'. In: creativetourist.com, 8 March 2013.

Publications

* Klaus Fabricius, Red Saunders (Hrsg.): ''24 Hours in the Life of Los Angeles / Olympic City '84''. Alfred van der Marck Editions, New York, 1984, . * Red Saunders, Syd Shelton, Malcolm McGregor: ''A Day in the Life of London''. Jonathan Cape Ltd, 1985, 288 pages, . * Red Saunders, Syd Shelton: ''Ireland: A Week in the Life of a Nation''. Ebury Press, 1986, 288 pages, . * Roger Huddle, Red Saunders: ''Reminiscences of RAR: Rocking Against Racism (1976–1982)''. Redwords, 2016, 256 pages, .

Exhibitions

* 2000: ''Nearby''. Pentagram Gallery, London. * 2011: ''Hidden''.

Impressions Gallery Impressions Gallery is an independent contemporary photography gallery in Bradford, England. It was established in 1972 and located in York until moving to Bradford in 2007. Impressions Gallery also runs a photography bookshop, publishes its own ...

, Bradford.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Red Photographers from London Living people 1945 births Alumni of the Polytechnic of Central London