ARESTLESSARTCASESTUDY #1AMBERCOLLECTIVE,NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE,UK

WrittenbyFrançoisMatarasso.CheckedbyGraemeRigbyandPeterRoberts.Version2,lastupdated:19October2015Text©2015FrançoisMatarasso;images©Creditedphotographers,theirestatesorAmberFilm&PhotographyCollec-tive.ThisworkisdistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives4.0Internationallicence.Youarefreetocopy,distribute,ordisplaythedigitalversiononconditionthat:youattributetheworktotheauthor(s);theworkisnotusedforcommercialpurposes;andyoudonotalter,transform,oraddtoit.

AMBER:INTEGRATELIFEANDWORKANDFRIENDSHIP

Childrenplayingwithdiscardedjunk,Byker,1971,Sirkka-LiisaKonttinen

RADICALCOMMITMENT

Whatpossessesagroupofartiststobuyandrunapubasabasefortheirworkinacommunity?Orinvestina63footfishingboattomakeafilmabouttheindustry?IttakesaspecialkindofcommitmenttomakeartasthemembersofAmberFilmandPhotographyCollectivehavedonesince1968.Aspecialkindofvision,andintegritytoo:it’snoaccidenttheirearlymanifestoopenswiththeword‘integrate’.

RadicalcomesfromtheLatinword‘radix’,aroot.Toberadicalistogototherootofthings,tothestart,tofirstprinciples.Itmeansquestioningestablishedwaysandclaimingtherighttothinkforyourself,freely–andthat,ofcourse,iswhatgoodartistshavealwaysdone.It’sartasphilos-ophy,intheSocraticstyle:askingquestionsaboutthingsmostofustakeforgranted.

IfyouwanttodocumentthelivesofpeoplelivinginNorthShields,ifyouwanttotelltheirstoriesratherthanyourown,whynotbuyandrunapub,becomepartofthecommunity?Whynotcommittospendingfiveyearstherefromthestart?

Ittakestimetobuildrelationship,togainpeople’strust,toseebeyondthesurface,tounder-stand.Yes,aflyingvisitbyagreatphotographercanproducegoodpictures.Butthereisadepth,aseriousness,anengagementintheAmberartists’workthatisofaquitedifferentcharacter.

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Anditcomesfrombeingrootedinplaceandcommunity,fromquestioningeverything,especiallyone’sownassumptions,fromintenselookingandlistening.Thatisradicalcommitment.

CONSISTENTCOMMITMENT

Amber was founded in 1968 at RegentStreetPolytechnicinLondon,byagroupofyoung artists including Murray Martin,Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen and Graham Den-man. The following year they moved toNewcastle-upon-Tyne in the industrialNorth East of England, whereMartin hadconnections. The artists wanted to berootedinaspecificplaceaspartofawork-ingclasscommunity.MartinandPeterRob-erts, who joined a couple of years later,grewupinsuchplacesandfeltthathighereducation had separated them from theirownroots,theirownculture.Theywantedtobridgethegapbydocumentingandcelebratingworkingclassculture.Itwasn'tanaspirationVictorPasmoreorRichardHamilton,Martin'sartschooltutors,hadmuchtimefor.

Thatcommitmenthasremainedconstant,thoughworkingclass lifechangedprofoundlywithindustrialdecline.Theclosureofsteelworks,shipyardsandcoalminesthatprovidedworkandasocialandculturalcontextformillionsofpeoplerecastlifeintheNorthEast.Infilmsandpho-tography,Amberartiststoldstoriesaboutterracesbeingclearedforhigh-risehousing,thesociallifeofneglectedquaysides,theenterpriseoftheseacoalgatherersand,ofcourse,industry.

Launch, a 1973 film about a ship built atSwanHunterinWallsend,isemblematicofAmber’searlyfilmmaking.Just10minuteslong, it raised questions about industry,class andmodernity that provokedwidelydifferentresponses—somesawitasapolit-icalcommentonworkingconditionsandin-equality while others accused it ofromanticism.Today,itisalsoanelegytoavanished world, a historic document likethenovelsofCharlesDickens.

As the industrial tide withdrew, Amberstayedtotellstoriesofthepeopleleftbehindandthenewlandscapesinwhichtheylive,ob-serving thehigh-rise futurebeingpulleddownand replacedwithamoremodestworld.Theresulting imagesdonotavoidadegreeofsadness:wheretherewaspridethere isoften justdefiance.ButonthemarginsAmberalsofoundstoriesofhumanityandresilience:farming,opencastmining,harnessracingandhorsebreedingallappearinastillgrowingbodyofdocumentaryandfeaturefilmandphotographicprojects.

TherecentexhibitionofAmber’sworkattheLaingGallerytracesthispainfulmutationofonewayoflifeintoanotherandthesimultaneousevolutionofagroupofartistsinresponse.The

StillfromLaunch(AmberFilms,1974)

Sirkka-LiisaKonttinen,MurrayMartin&PeterRob-ertsatTheHoppings,NewcastleuponTyne,1971

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underlyingcontinuity isremarkable.A2005photographbySimonNorfolkshowsDaltonParkShoppingOutletatdusk.Itstandsonthesiteofaformercolliery,itstent-likeroofsuggestingthetransienceofadesertmarket.Intheforeground,fillingthreequartersoftheframe,isanallotmentwithshedsandgreenhouses.Butthereseemstobemorestabilityintheramshacklecreativityofreusedmaterials,wherepeoplewhomayoncehaveworkedintheminegrowfoodinthefootstepsoftheirparentsandgrandparents.

DaltonParkOutletShoppingCentre,Murton,CoDurham,2005,SimonNorfolk

COLLECTIVECOMMITMENT

In1968,itseemednaturalforagroupofartiststoformacollective,poolingtheirvariousearn-ingsandpayingthemselvesanegalitarianwage.Itwas,afterall,amomentofhighidealism.Butitisexceptionaltohavestayedacollective,withshareddecision-makingandrights,throughthepost-Thatcheryearsas individualismbecameanarticleoffaithandmoneythebenchmarkofvalue.Muchoftheartworldboughtthedream.Amberdidn’t.

Theypaidapriceforittoo,SideGallery,thegroup'sphotographyvenue,losing80%oftheirregionalartsfundingin1989,whentheyrefusedtomoveawayfromcommitmenttodocumen-tarywork.Aboutthesametime,Channel4,whichhadbroadcastmanyofAmber’sfilmsinthe1980s,beganmovingtowardsmainstreammarketsunderadifferentfundingmodel.Documen-tariesanddramasmadebyAmberartistsinclosecooperationwiththeworkingclasscommuni-tiesinvolvedwerereplacedwithadvertising-friendlyrealitytelevision.ThereisnotjustapoliticalgulfseparatingSeacoalfromBenefitsStreet:thereisacreativeandmoralonetoo.

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KayleighwithhergrandmotherLynandbabyCody,2007,Sirkka-LiisaKonttinen,BykerRevisited/TodayI'mWithYou(AmberFilms,2010)

Ironically,therewasaalsopricetobepaidinartisticrecognition.Theartworldlikesauthorsasreligionslikesaints.Artistswhoresistturningthemselvesintoacultareignored,ifnotactivelyrejected.WhentheBBCboughtTodayI'mWithYou,afilmmadeoutofSirkka-LiisaKonttinen’slongengagementwiththeBykerdistrictofNewcastle,thecorporationcouldnolongerdealwithcollectivecredits.Ithadbecomeimpossibleforittobuyafilmunlessdirectorandproducerwereindividuallynamed.

Workingcollectivelywasnotjustaprinciple–itbroughthumanandartisticrewards.Itgavethememberspeerswithwhomtodevelopandtesttheirpractice,friendsindifficulttimes,even,assomehaveputit,akindoffamily.Anditwasneverexclusive.Overtheyearspeoplehaveleftandnewmembershavejoined.OtherartistshavedoneworkwithAmberwithoutbeingformallypartofthegroup.Today,theystilleattogetheronceaweek,enactingthegroup’sunwaveringcommitmenttocollectivecreativityandsharedhumanity.

ARTISTICCOMMITMENT

TheartistswhofoundedAmberinthelate1960sbelongtoaBritishgenerationwhoseliveshadbeentransformedbyaccesstohighereducation.Theirideasandpracticewereshapedbytheartworld,andespeciallytheartschool,ofthattime.Iftheysubsequentlyturnedtheirbacksonit–liketheFreeFormartistswhosestoryisdocumentedbyKateCrehan–itwasadeliberaterejectionofsomeofthatworld’svalues.Indifferentways,manyinthatfirstgenerationofcom-munityartists,wantedtoconnecttheartisticpossibilitiestheyhaddiscoveredwiththeworkingclassculturetheyrefusedtoabandon.

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Whattheydidnotreject,therefore,werethe artistic ideas, standards and refer-ences their education had given them.Amberartistssawtheirwork in relationtothatofotherfilmmakersandphotog-raphers, whether or not their practicewascommunity-based.ThehumanismofHenri Cartier-Bresson, leading Frenchphotographer and co-founder of Mag-num,wasan inspirationand theexhibi-tionofhisworkatAmber’sSideGalleryin1978wasbothnaturalandasignalofar-tisticambition.

Thecollectivehascommissioned,supported,exhibitedandcollectedtheworkofmanyothergreatphotographersfromMartineFranck,AugustSanderandWeegeetoSusanMeiselasandWendyEwald,whilealwaysincludingtalentedworkingclassphotographerswhodocumentedtheirowncommunitieslikeJimmyForysthandMaryGillens.Asaresult,Amber’sownworkhasbeenpresentedaspartofadevelopingbodyofdocumentaryphotography,sothatthecommu-nitieswithwhomthecollectiveworkedcouldseethemselvesinaninternationalcontext.

Ambervaluescraft,perhapsbecauseofitspastandcurrentrootsinworkingclasslife.Itsmem-bersunderstoodtheempowermentthatcomeswithmasteringtools,techniquesandmaterials.Theyunderstoodtoothatmanyofthepeopletheywantedtoworkwithhadasimilarrespectforembodiedknowledge.Inrejectingtheartworld’snarrowestpreoccupationsandcurrentval-ues,Amberheldfasttopracticesandbeliefsthatconnectedthemwithmanyoftheirbestfellowartistsofthepastandtoday.

COMMITMENTTOPEOPLE,ALWAYS

Thisrigourhasn’tpreventedAmberfromworkinginmoreobviouslyparticipatoryways.Atdif-ferenttimes,theyhaverunawriters'groupandvideoprojectswithyoungpeopleandteenagemothers,ofteninthetheprocessofinvolvingacommunityandleadingtowardsafeaturefilm.Inthe1980s,thecollectivewasverycommittedtodevelopingworkingclassparticipationintheFilmWorkshopMovementthroughaspecializedtrainingcompany.

And today, aspeople’s relationshipwith anduseof still andmoving imageshasbeen trans-formed by technology, the group is using participatory approaches again to rethink its everchangingrelationshipwiththecommunityandpeople’saccesstotheirownhistoryheldinthevastAmberCollection.TheLaingexhibitionbroughtahugeresponsefromlocalpeople,manyofwhomappearintheworkorknowotherswhodo.Afloodofmemory,knowledgeandideaswasreleased,openingallsortsofnewpossibilitiesforthecollective.AsGraemeRigbytoldme:

‘Everything inAmber isalwaysanexperimentandyoudon'tknowwhatnewdiscoveriesandprioritieswillemergeoutofwhatyou'redoing,butwhatwe'retryingtoachieveisaparticipatorypracticegoinghandinhandwiththegroup'scollectivefilmproduction,newphotographypro-ductionandthegalleryexhibitionwork.’

MurrayMartin,c1972

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REFLECTIONS

Integratelifeandworkandfriendship.Don’ttieyourselftoinstitutions.Livecheaplyandyou’llremainfree.Andthen,dowhateveritisthatgetsyouupinthemorning.

FromanearlyAmberManifesto1968

Despitethat,it’shardtoimagineanyofthepeoplewhohavebeenpartoftheAmbercollectiveoverthedecadesdescribingthemselvesasacommunityartist,stilllessaparticipatoryartist.Therhetoric isnotabouthelpingpeopletomaketheirownartworkorpassingoncreativeskills.Nothingissaidaboutthesocialimpactofthework:whateverpeoplegainedfrombeingphoto-graphed,filmedorotherwiseinvolvedinAmber’sproductionstheyhavekepttothemselves.

AndyeteverythingthatAmberstandsforiscompletelyinlinewiththatpractice.Itsfilmsandphotographsstandonthesamegroundascommunity/participatoryart,whereitisdistinguishedprincipallybyartisticambitionandunwaveringcommitment.AnybodywhostillbelievesthatthisrestlessartisashortcuttomediocritywoulddowelltospendsometimelookingatAmber’sworkonline.

Amber’scommitmenttocollectivecreativepracticeraisesimportantquestionsaboutwhotheworkbelongsto.Inparticipatoryart,authorshiphasoftenbeenviewedsimplisticallysothatit–andallthatcomeswithit,includingauthority–isthoughttobeamatterofhelpingpeopletomakesomething.Ifapersontookthispicture,playedthatpartonstageorheldtheirownlanternintheprocession,thatmeanstheyhaveexpressedthemselves.

Thetruth,asever,ismorecomplicated.Sometimes,havingagreatartisttellyourstoryisbetter.Betterbecauseyoudon’twanttobeanartist,actually,eventemporarily.Betterbecausetheirskillandknowledgewillmakethetellingofyourstorystronger,deeper,moretruthful.Betterbecausemorepeoplewillhearit.

Whatmattersiswhochooseshowit’sdone;wherethepowerlies.

MurrayMartindiedunexpectedlyin2007.HisgrievingfriendscompletedthefilmhewasmakingaboutafamilyofTravellersandtheircultureofhorsebreeding,andwhatemergedwasasmuchaboutMartinasanartistastheapparentsubjectofhisfilm.Theyincludedaninterviewhegavethreeyearsbeforehisdeath,inwhichhesaidofhisapproachtofilmmaking:

‘It’salsoattemptingtoreflectandrecordonbehalfofaculturesomethingwhichisimportanttothemandaccurateforthem,sothatadialoguecantakeplace.Whatthatmeans,really,isthatyouhavetoengagewiththosecommunitiesorthoseindividualsandsaythingsabouttheirliveswhichyoubelievetobeaccurateandultimatelytheybelievetobeaccurate,howeverdifficultthosestatementsare.AttheendofthedaythesuccessorfailureofapieceofworkbyAmberisthecommunityyoumakeitaboutlooksatitandsays“That’sright”.’

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SOURCES

Sitevisitandinterviews

• Visitto‘ForEverAmber’attheLaingArtGalleryandAmberCollectiveatSideGallery(New-castle-Upon-Tyne,UK),15September2015,andconversationswithGraemeRigbyandbriefmeetingswithothermembersoftheCollective.

Book

• AmberCollective,2015,ForEverAmber,StoriesfromaFilm&PhotographyCollective,Newcastle

Film

• AmberCollective,2008,ThePursuitofHappiness,Newcastle(90minutes),including30pagebooklet,“Amber,AShortHistory’.

Websites

• AmberFilm&PhotographyCollective• AmberFilmsonYouTube• ACulturePreservedinAmberbyNeilYoung,BritishFilmInstitute• AmberontheUNESCOMemoryoftheWorldRegister