Reed, David 1946-

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REED, David 1946-

PERSONAL: Born June 23, 1946, in London, England; married Lidia Maria Kesselring da Franca, January 29, 1987 (marriage ended, 1995); married Vasandra Devi Karthigesu (a research virologist), April 14, 1997. Education: London College of Printing, higher diploma in creative photography, 1975; Courtauld Institute of Art (London, England), Ph.D., 1992. Politics: "Radical Democrat." Religion: Atheist. Hobbies and other interests: Gardening, bird watching, cinema, computer graphics.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 1001 Kettner Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101.

CAREER: Color technician for laboratories, including Agfa-Gevaert, 1975-77; Paterson Products Ltd. (dealers in photographic darkroom equipment), writer, 1978-79; Afterimage, London, England, correspondent, 1978-81; Eaglemoss Publications, commissioning editor for You and Your Camera, 1979-80; freelance editor, 1988-90; freelance writer, editor, researcher, typesetter, and layout artist, 1992—. International Alert, head of research, 1994-95.

AWARDS, HONORS: Fellow at Smithsonian Institution, 1986-87.

WRITINGS:

Anna, Basic Books (New York, NY), 1976.

Two Bedrooms in San Francisco, Walter/McBean Gallery (San Francisco, CA), 1992.

David Reed, edited by Martin Hentschel and Udo Kittelmann, Cantz (Ostfildern, Germany), 1995.

New Paintings for the Mirror Room and Archive in a

Studio off the Courtyard, edited by Günther Holler-Schuster and Peter Weibel, Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum Joanneum (Graz, Austria), 1996.

The Rise of the Popular Magazine in Britain and the United States, 1880-1960, British Library (London, England), 1996, published as The Popular Magazine in Britain and the United States, 1880-1960, University of Toronto Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1997.

David Reed Paintings: Motion Pictures, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (San Diego, CA), 1998.

Contributor to periodicals, including British Library Journal, Journal of Advertising History, Art History, British Journal of Photography, Creative Camera, and Birds.

EDITOR

Lilies and Related Plants, 1986-87, Royal Horticultural Society (London, England), 1987.

In Search of the Orient, Reader's Digest Books (Pleasantville, NY), 1989.

Lilies and Related Plants, 1988-89, Royal Horticultural Society (London, England), 1989.

In Search of North America, Reader's Digest Books (Pleasantville, NY), 1989.

An Illustrated Atlas of the British Empire, Hamlyn (London, England), 1989.

In Search of Western Europe, Reader's Digest Books (Pleasantville, NY), 1990.

In Search of the South Pacific, Reader's Digest Books (Pleasantville, NY), 1990.

Communism: An Illustrated History, Amazon Books, 1991.

Internal Conflict in South Asia, Sage Publications (London, England), 1995.

The Offıcial Notting Hill Carnival Guide, Ashley House, 1996.

Editor of newsletter A Vigia do Brasil, 1993—; editor, World of Trains, 1992, and Model Railway Enthusiast, 1993.

SIDELIGHTS: David Reed once told CA: "I come in two halves: my lower depths are largely venal; my higher aspirations are boringly spiritual. In other words, I write to make money that supports my historical research, which eventually ends up on the page. The first is dispatched with ease; the second is painstaking, mind-numbing almost. I prefer to write in the morning. I read through the previous paragraphs, editing as I go, which gets me into the flow of the words so that I keep going when I reach the end of the line. I frequently become very tense as I write, trying to sort out my thoughts, which leads to cups of tea, visits to the garden to potter, pacing up and down, before I am sufficiently calm to resume. I would love to be able to do something else, but I can't. It's a compulsion. It must be. The process of assembling the historical information takes years and frequently drives me to distraction, often through boredom.

"My work is an attempt to create a paradigm in words for the complexity of history that I find so overwhelming. I fail. Anger at the stupidity, brutality, and laziness of others drives me on. My efforts will not ameliorate the situation, but I have no alternative. I must do something, and if doing something, I am compelled to do my best, which is not good enough.

"I am fascinated by the effect of technological change on society. I consider that within the context of magazines, because magazines have been largely ignored despite their financial, social, and emotional importance to Western and westernized society. Now I am moving on to investigate how the publication of portraits of the British monarchy, largely in magazines, has affected their position over the last 150 years. When I do this, I try to look very, very hard at what has happened in the past so that I can try to understand it. I am not interested in repeating the theories of others. I want to confront the objects in front of me. I also worked on a large-scale exhibition on the modern magazine for the British Library."