Loraine Leeson: Art for Change

A retrospective of Loraine Leeson's practice over 30 years combining activism, politics and education. Leeson’s grassroots campaigns using classic photomontage techniques are important documents of East London’s rich social history over the last 30 years.

The exhibition Art for Change celebrated Loraine Leeson as an artist whose work has influenced and supported social change for over 30 years. The exhibition presents a retrospective of work from the mid 70s to the present day. Combining activism, politics and education Leeson's collaborative grassroots campaigns are among the most exciting in East London's rich social history.

Touring LA with Rayner Banham

Lovely set of photos on this virtual tour of LA here...for more background see this earlier post

Thamesmead, Riverside School 76 - 78

Fantastic, evocative photo set here.

"In my early days I was employed, at my second school, as a science teacher at Riverside School, Thamesmead. Situtated on the Bexley/London border, it was a relatively new school in a "London" housing estate. Riverside School is now Bexley Business Academy.

I went into teaching full of belief and idealism, knowing that our children had limitless potential. After 5 years I realised that there was no place for idealism in teaching. I left in 1978 not knowing what I would do.

Some of the photographs in this set were shown in a "Half Moon Photogaphy Workshop" exhibition in 1979. I titled the exhibition "Lost at School". Of course I was referring to my own situation, not that of the children in the photographs".

Museum visitors will also, of course, know that Thamesmead was the main location for Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971). There's nothing that sinister in these photographs though.

Qdos = whodos??

Not strictly speaking a 1970s post, but I thought the way in which this new 'service' is being marketed smacks of some of the surveillance/identity anxieties tracked elsewhere in this blog...don't really know if its thrilling or chilling....certainly conjures up some sort of big brother moment...