{"id":2167,"date":"2013-08-28T21:47:54","date_gmt":"2013-08-29T01:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/20x24studio.com\/?p=2167"},"modified":"2013-08-28T22:00:22","modified_gmt":"2013-08-29T02:00:22","slug":"britons-by-neal-slavin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/20x24studio.com\/?p=2167","title":{"rendered":"Britons by Neal Slavin"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In 1986 Neal Slavin<\/a> published Britons, and extraordinary collection of 20×24 Polaroid photographs executed\u00a0over an eight year period in the UK. Anyone who has ever seen a 20×24 Polaroid camera in action will marvel at the technical tour de force this body of work embodies. Add to that Slavin’s ability to orchestrate and inspire his\u00a0subjects results in truly remarkable documents of a myriad of social constructs.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Foreword for The Britons
\nby Colin Ford, \u00a0Keeper, National Museum of Photography, Film and Television<\/p>\n

I have been an admirer of Neal Slavin since I first saw his book When Two Or More Are Gathered Together,
\npublished in the USA in 1976. It consists of sixty or so multiple portraits which demonstrate colourfully,
\nrevealingly and entertainingly that many human beings seem to feel the need to congregate in groups, at
\nwork and at play. Do we feel safer that way? Do we believe our personalities and identities are more
\nrecognisable? Or do we just enjoy being with like-minded people? Whatever the answer, the Americans in
\nSlavin’s photographs seemed so to blossom before his camera that I knew he should be asked to exercise
\nhis considerable skills in Britain.<\/p>\n

What were those skills? A scrutiny of his pictures revealed a mastery of composition and colour (it was
\nalmost impossible to imagine them in black and white). But, more importantly, the photographer clearly
\nhad a way of making each photographic sitting an occasion: his sitters were all giving performances \u2014 and
\nall having a wonderful time. He was, equally obviously, the possessor of a well-developed \u2014 and warm \u2014
\nsense of humour. The pictures were funny: the laughter came, not from the silliness of the antics, but
\nfrom the participants’ overt pleasure in dramatizing themselves, and in acting out their quirkiness for the
\nphotographer.<\/p>\n

It has taken eight years of voluble persuasion, intricate planning and costly expenditure to bring the
\nproject to its triumphant conclusion. If I say that I believe Slavin’s Britons have fared even better than his
\nAmericans, it is not jingoism, nor merely the pleasure of having been so personally involved, nor pride
\nthat this magnificent assemblage is yet another feather in the cap of the National Museum of Photography,
\nFilm & Television. It derives mainly, I think, from the inspired decision to use only the giant Polaroid
\ncamera.<\/p>\n

The Polaroid 20″ x 24″ Instant Land Camera is a formidable beast, calling for a team of handlers to
\ntransport it, feed it, keep it in good temper and bed it down for the night. When you face the brute in
\norder to be photographed, however, you know without doubt that you are participating in an event larger
\nthan life: everyone in the pictures stretches nerve and sinew to give of their best, and such superhuman
\nefforts are rewarded by the pure magic of that moment when the huge print is peeled off, seconds after
\nexposure. I have never seen anyone fail to be astonished \u2014 even moved \u2014 by the quality, the rich color,
\nand the sheer impact of the result. And the magic is even more powerful for those who are aware of the
\nweeks of organization, letter-writing, telephoning, map-reading and arm-twisting which have preceded
\nthat moment of what is often supposed to be ‘instant’ photography.
\nOn the walls of the Museum, and in the pages of this book, the magic is still there. Our sincerest
\nthanks to everyone who made it possible \u2014 and especially to Neal Slavin. It was well worth waiting eight
\nyears for!<\/p>\n

All images \u00a9 Neal Slavin 2013<\/p>\n

\"\"
Channel Swimmers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Bickley Dancers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Lord & Lady Brookeborough<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
7th Day Adventists<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Colony Room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Elephant Keepers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Camera Club<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Debutantes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
First Communicants<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Great Danes Breeders Association<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Lubavitcher<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Marina Women’s Bowls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Norlands Nannies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
WLHB<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Snooker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1986 Neal Slavin published Britons, and extraordinary collection of 20×24 Polaroid photographs executed\u00a0over an eight year period in the UK. Anyone who has ever seen a 20×24 Polaroid camera in action will marvel at the technical tour de force this body of work embodies. Add to that Slavin’s ability to orchestrate and inspire his\u00a0subjects … Continue reading Britons by Neal Slavin<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-20x24-featured-artists"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/20x24studio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/20x24studio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/20x24studio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/20x24studio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/20x24studio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2167"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/20x24studio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2222,"href":"https:\/\/20x24studio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2167\/revisions\/2222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/20x24studio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/20x24studio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/20x24studio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}