The Simple Image: Photography of Barry Clothier
Read about ‘The Simple Image: The photography of Barry Clothier’ exhibition, co-curated by the Alexander Turnbull Library and Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision.
Introducing Barry Glanville Clothier
Musician and photographer Barry Glanville Clothier (or Clothface, as his bandmates sometimes called him) was born in Whangārei but moved to Wellington as a child. Although he initially trained as a teacher and worked as a linesman, he soon carved out a career as a professional photographer.
Clothier was also a keen jazz musician, playing bass with the Talbot Johnstone Quintet and part of a 1960s jazz scene that included the likes of Bruno Lawrence and Geoff Murphy.
‘Photography is very underrated as a form of artisitic expression...’ — Barry Clothier
‘Photographer to the stars’
In the 1960s, Wellington jazz musician and photographer Barry Clothier was ‘photographer to the stars’, working closely with HMV Wellington, as well as off his own bat, to shoot many of the established and rising pop stars of the day.
A collection of Clothier’s photos, drawn from his personal archives held at the Alexander Turnbull Library, are the subject of an exhibition called The Simple Image featuring rarely seen images of Kiwi icons, including Bruno Lawrence, Maria Dallas, Dinah Lee, The Chicks, and many others.
A photograph of Maria Dallas performing on stage taken by Barry Clothier in October 1966. Ref: PAColl-7031-1-37. Alexander Turnbull Library.
The exhibition also features film footage drawn from Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision that captures performances by many of the featured artists, as well the sights and sounds of Wellington in the late 1960s.
Audience members dance at a Dizzy Limits concert, held at an unidentified youth club in the Wellington region. Photographed by Barry Clothier in October 1966. Ref: PAColl-7031-1-33. Alexander Turnbull Library.
Wellington music scene
Clothier’s connection with the Wellington music scene no doubt helped to kick-start his career in photography. The photographs displayed in the exhibition include some of the most prominent Kiwi pop-stars of the day.
He continued to work as an artistic and commercial photographer until his retirement, producing images for businesses, educational publications and pet owners.
Publicity image of New Zealand singer, Mr Lee Grant, taken at the Wellington Botanic Garden. Photographed by Barry Clothier in 1966. Ref: PAColl-7031-1-16. Alexander Turnbull Library.
What are the markings on the photographs?
Some of these images include lines and arrows made with a permanent marker, as well as scuff marks and the occasional red sticker. This is because the images are taken from Barry Clothier’s contact print proof sheets.
Detail from a contact sheet of 12 photographs of Maria Dallas taken by Barry Clothier in October 1966. Ref: PA-Group-00671. Alexander Turnbull Library.
A proof sheet is produced by developing a group of negatives on a single piece of paper, making it easier to select images to be enlarged and printed.
Clothier made the markings on the proof sheets (perhaps in collaboration with HMV executives and the artists) to identify favourite images and demarcate crop lines.
We have chosen to keep these markings on the photographs to show the process of curation that was part of Clothier’s photographic work.
Detail from a proof sheet of publicity shots of the band Simple Image, by Barry Clothier, May 1967. Ref: PAColl-7031-1-53. Alexander Turnbull Library.
Further reading
You can see digitised images and contact sheets from the Barry Clothier Collection held in the Alexander Turnbull Library (ref: PA-Group-00671).
Writer and music journalist Chris Bourke has written about Barry on Audioculture: HMV in the 1960s: the Barry Clothier collection.
