As one of Britain’s most influential portrait photographers, Brian Griffin achieved early recognition for his work in the 1970s and 1980s, developing a style which has since been referred to as Capitalist Realism.
Brian Griffin 'has had a profound effect on photography in the last 30 years... he creates works of art that leave the viewer mesmerised' (British journal of Photography).
He began work aged 16 as a trainee draughtsman in a Black Country factory, but with a desire to leave home and following an introduction to photography through a local camera club, Griffin enrolled at Manchester Polytechnic to study photography graduating in 1972.
‘Those were analogue days! Growing up amongst the factories of the Black Country, studying photography in Manchester alongside my friends Daniel Meadows and Martin Parr, and then with trepidation going down to London to make a living as a photographer in the early 1970’s. In popular recollection, the 1970’s have gone down as the dark ages; Britain’s gloomiest period since the second world war, was set between Harold Wilson’s ‘swinging sixties ’and Margaret Thatcher’s divisive eighties. What was it like to be a young photographer then? By the end of the 1980’s my photography was known throughout the world. How did I do it? What did I go through? It’s all in my recent publication ‘Black Country Dada’ in which I tell the story, warts and all.’
Brian Griffin 2021
Much of his early career was focused in the advertising and commercial world and he ran his own production company – Produktion – working as a commercial director for many years.
Returning to photography he took inspiration from fine art, film and literature and has exhibited his art photography internationally, receiving commissions from many European cultural institutions including Rencontre D’Arles Photography Festival.
In 2010 Griffin had a major retrospective of his portraiture Face to Face in Birmingham and in 2013 he received the Centenary Medal from the Royal Photographic Society in recognition of a lifetime achievement in photography.
His book Pop, a collection of his record covers and portraits was a sell-out success and in 2016 Griffin was inducted into the Album Cover Hall of Fame.
Brian worked with a huge variety of music industry clients including Depeche Mode, REM, Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, Ringo Starr, Peter Gabriel and Brian May; and his work can be seen on many album covers from the era.
He is famous for his ground-breaking approach to portraiture from Iggy Pop to Kate Bush, and numerous high profile projects stretching from 'Work' in the 1980's to his project charting 'The Road to 2012', commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery. 'Work' went on to be awarded the Best Photography book in the World at the Barcelona Primavera Fotografica 1991 and The Life magazine used the photograph "A Broken Frame" on its front cover of a special supplement "The Greatest Photographs Of The 80's".
In 2003 Brian worked on Birmingham’s bid to become European Capital City of Culture and was awarded a honorary doctorate from Birmingham City University in 2014 for his lifetime contribution to the city.
For the London Olympics Griffin worked on the photography project Road to 2012 for the National Portrait Gallery.
Brian Griffin’s photographs are held in the permanent collections of major art institutions including the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; the Arts Council of Great Britain, London; the British Council, London; the National Portrait Gallery, London; the Museum Folkwang, Essen; the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery; the Art Museum Reykjavik, Iceland; the Mast Foundation, Bologna; and the Museu da Imagem, Braga, Portugal.
www.briangriffin.co.uk
