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EXHIBITION NOTICE TO PRESS
F.Y.I. (For Your Information)
Thursday 30 August 2012 – Saturday 1 September 2012
exhibition open daily
11am – 6pm
FREE
   
F.Y.I. revisits public information films and government-commissioned films from 1930s to the year 2000. From the innovative early works of filmmakers in the GPO Film Unit to the horror-movie like TV warnings of the 1970s, it explores the role and responsibility of public information films in keeping British citizens informed while often allowing creative freedom for filmmakers. From experimental animation to informative musicals, these films all operate as social documents of the times.
The exhibition will include projections of film works that would originally have been seen in cinemas, including GPO commissioned films 'Rainbow Dance' (1936) directed by Len Lye and 'The Torcher' (1938) by Lotte Reiniger. 'Rainbow Dance' is one of the earliest experimental colour shorts and could be read as a precursor to contemporary music videos and adverts. Lye experimented with the colour stock Gasparcolor, he employs shot footage and overlays it with a number of abstract colour effects. 'The Torcher' is a film ballet based on a Scottish fairy tale, which advertises the Post Office’s Saving Bank. It is particularly notable for its music (Rossini themes arranged by Benjamin Britten), and is a testament to the important role that public information films have played in nurturing creative talents.
Public information films (PIFs) have been commissioned since 1933 as a way to ensure citizens are informed and engaged with issues that affect their lives - from services, health and education to benefits, rights and welfare. This kind of filmmaking began with the General Post Office who inherited the film unit from the Empire Marketing Board, which was abolished in 1933. During the two world wars, the Ministry of Information took on the commissioning of PIFs as part of their responsibilities to aid communications. After World War II, the new Central Office of Information undertook the commissioning of PIFs. The Central Office of Information closed on 31 March 2012.
This exhibition attempts to portray the breath of Public information films and their social contexts, from the very real concerns for child safety around waterways, ‘Lonely Water’ (1973) and ‘Frozen Ponds’ (1980), to the anxieties evident in, ‘Rabies Outbreak’ (1976) and ‘Action 2000 – Millennium’ (1999).
Accompanying the exhibition will be a contextualising essay by writer Colin Perry.
Notes to editor:
- F.Y.I. is the gallery's Monthly Do for August and sees Pump House Gallery becoming a Pop Up Public Info Cinema for three days with this exhibition and an outdoor Showtime Screening. It continues Pump House Gallery's commitment to exploring ideas of social and civic space.
- Accompanying this exhibition is an outdoor-screening, on Thursday 30 August, of the government film ‘Persona Non Grata’ (1962). Selected by BFI curator Katy McGahan, a Government Film specialist, who’s introductory talk will explore COI films and their contemporary relevance. Gallery open from 7pm, FREE admission (pay bar), introductory talk by Catherine McGahan from 8pm and screening from 8.30pm.
- F.Y.I. is funded by the Greater London Authority as part of the Mayor of London’s Showtime festival. Showtime is a range of free outdoor arts events taking place in every London borough to celebrate the games.
- Pump House Gallery is a public contemporary visual arts space on the lakeside in Battersea Park, South London. The gallery is owned, managed and funded by Wandsworth Council and plays a leading role in the cultural life of the borough. It is the highest profile public visual arts space in Wandsworth, attracting over 30,000 visitors a year.
- Thanks to BFI for film releases.
- Images clockwise from top left: F.Y.I. exhibition image; ‘Five Inch Bather’, 1942, directed and starring Richard Massingham; ‘Rainbow Dance’, 1936, directed by Len Lye and ‘Snatch of the Day’, 1975
For more info/ images please contact:
Laura Eldret
Participation and Education Officer
Pump House Gallery
Battersea Park
London SW11 4NJ
020 8871 7572
leldret@wandsworth.gov.uk
www.pumphousegallery.org.uk
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