David Brittain
Senior Lecturer
In 2002 David was awarded an AHRC Fellowship in the Creative and Performing Arts to research the subject of photography and the small magazine. With a background in arts journalism and broadcasting he has contributed to numerous publications. He was editor of the respected photography magazine, "Creative Camera" (1991-2001), a contributor to BBC Radio Four and involved on the production of a series of documentaries for BBC TV’s “The Late Show”, including a profile of the photographer William Klein. David participated in the British Library’s Oral History of British Photography and has been involved with photography as a curator and selector. He is a member of IAWIS (International Association of Word and Image Studies). In 2000 David’s anthology of writings, “Creative Camera: Thirty Years of Writing” was published by Manchester University Press. His latest book "Paolozzi at New Worlds: Science Fiction and Art in the Sixties" was published by Savoy Books in 2013.
David’s research interests concern many of the questions and issues that were raised during his professional activities in publishing, writing and curating. These include authorship, reproduction, the material culture of archives, text and image and digital culture.
Projects
Eduardo Paolozzi Re-readings
A one-day conference at Manchester Metropolitan University This one-day conference, conceived by the Visual Culture Research Centre within MIRIAD, shed new light on the graphic works of Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005). The conference sought to make a significant contribution to the reappraisal of this seminal artist/co-founder of the Independent Group. Details…
F for FILE (2005)
F for FILE (2005) is an interview with the artist A.A. Details…
Found, Shared: The Magazine Photowork (2006)
Cube Gallery, Manchester. 19 April - 20 May 2006. Details…
Research
Exhibitions
Brittain, D., 2014. 'Corridor' presented by the Exhibition Centre for the Use and Abuse of Books, International Anthony Burgess Foundation, August 15 till 19 September.
Brittain, D., 2013. Space Age Archaeology: Eduardo Paolozzi and Science Fiction, Scottish National Galleries of Modern Art (II), July - October.
Brittain, D., 2010. Convergence: Literary Art Exhibitions, Golden Thread Gallery Belfast, 16 June to 6 August 2010.
Brittain, D., 2009. Eduardo Paolozzi: The Jet Age Compendium, Raven Row, Sep 3 - Nov 1st 2009.
Brittain, D, 2006. Found, Shared: The Magazine Photowork, CUBE galllery, Manchester, 19.04.06 - 20.05.06.
Brittain, D., 2004. Out of Print: Ohio a Magazine art Project, International Project Space, University of Central England, Birmingham, Sept 4 to 24, 2004.
Artefacts
Brittain, D., 2009. 'The Jet Age Compendium: Eduardo Paolozzi at Ambit'.
Brittain, D., 2007. 'FASHNRIOT ISSUE 4', Artists' magazine on the theme of lost and found, Coincided with an exhibition from April-June 2007.
Books
Cahill, C., Brittain, D., 2013. 'Inside Photography', Dewi Lewis Publishing, UK.
Brittain, D., 2013. 'Paolozzi at New Worlds: Science Fiction and Art in the Sixties', Savoy Books, Manchester.
Brittain, D., 2003. 'Uncanny Eden', Ediciones Universidad, Salamanca.
Book Chapters
Brittain, D., 2009. 'Ohio'. In Boivent Marie (eds.) Revues d'Artistes Une Selection, one, 166-169, Galerie d"art Contemporain des Urbanistes, Fougeres, France.
Brittain, D., 2008. 'An Interview About Salon Art Magazine'. In Theewen Gerhard (eds.) Salon reprint Edition Supplement, one, unnumbered pages, Salon Verlag, Germany.
Brittain, D., 2008. 'Simon Norfolk, Ohio, John Riddy, Jitka Hanzlova'. In Grosenick Uta, Seelig Thomas (eds.) Photo Art: Fotografie Im 21. Jahrhudert, 112, 174-177; 322-325; 326-329; 366-369;, Dumont, Germany.
Brittain, D., 2006. 'The Photographers' Press in the USA and Britain During the Transition Decade of the 60s'. In Michael Peres, Grant Romer, David Malin, Mark Osterman, Nancy Stuart. Scott Williams, Franziska Frey, Tom Lopez (eds.) Focal Press Encyclopedia of Photography (fourth edition), Focal Press.
Internet Publications
Brittain, D., 2015. 'Field theory in the Neoliberal Cultural Industries', Atiner Papers, http://www.atiner.gr/papers/ART2015-1512.pdf..
Brittain, D., 2009. 'David Brittain interviews Carl Chiarenza', FOTO 8, www.foto8.com.
Brittain, D., 2005. 'Out of Print: Ohio: a magazine art project A Magazine or Anti-Magazine?', Weblogue - conference website, http://staff.biad.bcu.ac.uk/staff/id003706/menu.html.
Journal Articles
Butler, J., 2012. 'Glass and Paper Landscapes', Source: The Photographic Review, Issue 70, Into the Archive, Spring Issue, pp:26-37. http://www.source.ie/archive/issue70/is7.
Brittain, D., 2010. 'Magazines and magazine art', Studies in Photography, 2009, 22 to 27.
Brittain, D., 2009. 'Found, Shared: the Magazine Photowork', Visual Communication, vol 8 number 4, 401 to 407.
Brittain, D., 2009. 'Interview: David Brittain in conversation with editor Jack Schofield', FOTO 8, Issue 24, 26-31.
Brittain, D., 2009. 'Interview: David Brittain in converstion with editor Bill Jay', FOTO 8, Issue 23, 20-25.
Brittain, D., 2009. 'Mark Neville: Fancy Pictures', Source, Issue 60, 28-39.
Brittain, D., 2009. 'The Missing Picture', Source Photographic Review, 2009 and ongoing, 80.
Brittain, D., 2008. 'David Williams: 88 Places', Portfolio, No 48, 26-33.
Brittain, D., 2007. 'found in the UK's National Collection of the Art of Photography', Afterimage, November/December 2007, 17-19.
Brittain, D., 2007. 'Little British ...', Eye, 65, 46-51.
Brittain, D., 2007. 'Touch, Feel and Lose', Photoworks, spring/summer 2007, 34-37.
Brittain, D., 2005. 'To Hell and Back', Source.
Brittain, D., 2004. 'Cruel and Tender: The Real in the Twentieth-Century Photograph', Visual Communication, Vol 3, No 1, February 2004, 27-30.
Presentations
Brittain, D., 2014. 'The Time and Space Travel of William Burroughs', Beyond the Cut Up: William S. Burroughs and the Image, The Photographers' Gallery, 15 Ferbruary 2014, in tbc.
Brittain, D., 2011. 'JG Ballard and Eduardo Paolozzi: Analysing the Media Landscape', Surrealism, Science Fiction and Comics, Courtauld Institute, 22 Jaunary 2011.
Brittain, D., 2010. 'How does the art exhibition function as mediator of literature', Displaying Word and Image, University of Ulster, June 5 and 6 2010.
Brittain, D., 2008. 'Putting good things together', Writing Art History seminar, Courtauld Institute of Art, oct 17 2008, in n/a.
Ravetz, A., 2007. 'Tip of the tongue debate "Feeling Nostalgic"', The Photographers Gallery, June 13th 2007.
Brittain, D., 2004. 'Photography’s Quarrel with Ink', The Third Space: Mapping the Magazines of Photography, University of Central England, Sep 2004.
Brittain, D., 2004. 'Robert Frank in Magazines', What do we Think of the Americans?, Tate Modern, London, 3 December 2004.
Brittain, D., 2003. 'Notes Towards Making a Study of the Making of the Modern Photography Magazine', First Mapping the Magazine conference, Cardiff University, June 2003.
Other Outputs
Brittain, D., 2007. 'Afterimage Photography and the archive edition', a special edition of this US journal of media arts and cultural criticism.
Brittain, D, Billson, N, 2006. 'Found, Shared: The Magazine Photowork', Exhibition catalogue, posters, exhibition information panels + site specific photo montages.