Appreciation of Martin Parr

[Nitroplait]

Haven't yet, but did find the trailer for a short documentary called Hot Spots: Martin Parr in the American South, in which Gossage, amongst others, is interviewed.

Cool. Apparantly you can see it on Vimeo on demand for: $2.99.
Not today, but bookmarked.

 

[MattKing]

Thank you to all who have posted information that increases my appreciation of Martin Parr.
"Appreciation" meaning, of course, understanding.

 

[Nitroplait]

There are many podcast interviews with Parr out there.
Most are mediocre with starstruck interviewers and repeats the same origin story again and again.
However, yesterday I came across a 30min podcast interview from 2021 that raised a little above the average and may be of interest to both those familiar and new to Martin Parr:



The show is called “Common Decency” and the episode: Martin Parr: Photography and The Meaning of Life.
They get around intent, methodology, subject access, projects, technique and more.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Excellent feature about Martin Parr in Today's The Guardian

‘There’s something very interesting about boring’: Martin Parr on his life in pictures

From Benidorm sunbathers to British birdwatchers, for nearly 70 years the photographer has captured the magic of the mundane. As he publishes his life in pictures, he recalls what drew him to his subjects – and what they tell us about a changing world

www.theguardian.com

 

[warden]

There are many podcast interviews with Parr out there.
Most are mediocre with starstruck interviewers and repeats the same origin story again and again.
However, yesterday I came across a 30min podcast interview from 2021 that raised a little above the average and may be of interest to both those familiar and new to Martin Parr:



The show is called “Common Decency” and the episode: Martin Parr: Photography and The Meaning of Life.
They get around intent, methodology, subject access, projects, technique and more.

That was a good listen. Thanks!

 

[warden]

Excellent feature about Martin Parr in Today's The Guardian

‘There’s something very interesting about boring’: Martin Parr on his life in pictures

From Benidorm sunbathers to British birdwatchers, for nearly 70 years the photographer has captured the magic of the mundane. As he publishes his life in pictures, he recalls what drew him to his subjects – and what they tell us about a changing world

www.theguardian.com

The Vuitton cigarette case in Dakar was clever and a great image too. LV had to know they were going to get a subtle critique of their product with their product shot, right? I mean it‘s Martin Parr after all.

 

[pentaxuser]

There are 2 programmes on Martin Parr tonight Monday 1st Sept on BBC 4 which look as if they might be interesting

Unfortunately I have no idea whether there is any way those outside the U.K. can view these programmes or even if ít is possible to do so a few hours after the live broadcast via what is called the BBC iPlayer where all broadcasts are stored for later viewing purposes

The programmes are called: "I am Martin Parr" and "Martin Parr- Think of England - Modern Times and appear at 9:00pm and 10:05pm respectively

pentaxuser

 

[Nitroplait]

Outside UK you need a VPN to access the online BBC live broadcast as well as iPlayer, unfortunately.
But thanks for the heads up- I happen to have a VPN.
I have waited for a chance to see "I am Martin Parr".

 

[Nitroplait]

The programmes are called: "I am Martin Parr" and "Martin Parr- Think of England

By the way. Think of England is on Youtube - not the greatest transfer, though.
I tried to watch it, but it didn't catch my interest.


A Martin Parr film (by him, not about him) I did like very much, was the documentary about the Teddy Gray's Sweet factory. Very charming and funny:

 

[Alex Benjamin]

There are 2 programmes on Martin Parr tonight Monday 1st Sept on BBC 4 which look as if they might be interesting

Unfortunately I have no idea whether there is any way those outside the U.K. can view these programmes or even if ít is possible to do so a few hours after the live broadcast via what is called the BBC iPlayer where all broadcasts are stored for later viewing purposes

The programmes are called: "I am Martin Parr" and "Martin Parr- Think of England - Modern Times and appear at 9:00pm and 10:05pm respectively

pentaxuser

I need to get me a VPN...

I Am Martin Parr review – enjoyable study of tragicomic Britain’s inspired photographer

Valuable documentary on the vigilant genius whose highly coloured 70s and 80s images revealed the white working class as never before

www.theguardian.com

 

[Pieter12]

Photography is not about humour

Tell that to Elliott Erwit (OK, he's dead, so you can't).

 

[MTGseattle]

That article in the Guardian helped me a lot.

While I feel like I may not be entirely in on the joke with some of Martin Parr's work, the juxtaposition and the absurdity of some of the images does not escape me.
I am curious about some foundational aspects of England and its culture. A holiday to the seaside seems to permeate a wide swath of English culture. Is this primarily a day holiday for those who live close by, or would folks from Milton-Keynes make the trek as well? (Milton-Keynes simply looking to be mildly land locked on the map)

I too found a lot of interesting stuff regarding and from the Martin Parr foundation.

 

[Pieter12]

It occurs to me that Martin Parr's work makes a significant amount of use of some of the elements of what some might refer to as English humour.
If that doesn't resonate with you, you are unlikely to appreciate the work.

Liike Benny Hill. Or even Monty Python. Mr Bean ?

 

[Nitroplait]

I saw I Am Martin Parr on BBC4 this morning.
Likely only available outside the UK with a VPN set to United Kingdom.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002j0v1
Aside from the expected and usual friends and colleagues explaining how great he is, it is a fine documentary.
No big surprises but worth the time.

 

[snusmumriken]

In a way, Martin Parr follows on where Tony Ray Jones left off: pointing out the absurdities in life, especially in English life. TRJ's humour was a touch superior, but also affectionate. Martin Parr's seems sardonic without any discernible affection. The intro to The Non-Conformists alludes to the fact that the little community Parr was documenting felt exploited and let down by the end of the project. I feel that previews the nature of the work he did subsequently.

I do admire what Martin Parr has done, and I'm glad that he did it, but I'm uncomfortable with a lot of it.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

In a way, Martin Parr follows on where Tony Ray Jones left off: pointing out the absurdities in life, especially in English life. TRJ's humour was a touch superior, but also affectionate. Martin Parr's seems sardonic without any discernible affection. The intro to The Non-Conformists alludes to the fact that the little community Parr was documenting felt exploited and let down by the end of the project. I feel that previews the nature of the work he did subsequently.

I do admire what Martin Parr has done, and I'm glad that he did it, but I'm uncomfortable with a lot of it.

This sums it up perfectly. I think what makes Tony Ray-Jones seem more affectionate is that he tried to reconcile the ironic depiction of absurd and ridiculous attitudes and behaviour with the more socially concerned neorealism of post-Robert Franck photography (if you want a title for you next doctoral thesis, you've got it right there ).

Martin Parr doesn't have that Robert Franck influence in him, or not apparently so. And he is walking a fine line between just showing what is and exploitative mockery and misrepresentation — a line I've always felt Bruce Gilden crosses blithely.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

This is Tony Ray-Jones being pure proto-Martin Parr-ish , depicting the contradictions and absurdies of British society.

This is Tony Ray-Jones being post-Robert Franck-ish

 

[snusmumriken]

This is Tony Ray-Jones being pure proto-Martin Parr-ish , depicting the contradictions and absurdies of British society.

Well I don't know. Tony Ray Jones sought out traditions and eccentrics. He seems to be saying, "Look at the bizarre things (English) people do for special occasions, even though they know they are crackers. Look at the dear old boy concentrating on his cup of tea despite the would-be beauty queens. Look how the posh people dine al fresco alongside cows because That Is What One Does at Glyndebourne . Isn't it all delightful?" The people he singles out for our attention all seem to have a legitimate place in his England.

Martin Parr, on the other hand, seems to be saying, "Look at this, look at the hideous colours, the not-very-attractive people tanning themselves to a crisp or stuffing themselves with junk food, look how hilariously ghastly it all is."

The sweet factory film is gentle, I do accept.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Tony Ray Jones sought out traditions and eccentrics. He seems to be saying, "Look at the bizarre things (English) people do for special occasions, even though they know they are crackers. Look at the dear old boy concentrating on his cup of tea despite the would-be beauty queens. Look how the posh people dine al fresco alongside cows because That Is What One Does at Glyndebourne . Isn't it all delightful?" The people he singles out for our attention all seem to have a legitimate place in his England.

Martin Parr, on the other hand, seems to be saying, "Look at this, look at the hideous colours, the not-very-attractive people tanning themselves to a crisp or stuffing themselves with junk food, look how hilariously ghastly it all is."

I agree with you. That's what I meant when I wrote that Ray-Jones was "proto-" Martin Parr. My feeling is that these upper-class/lower-class depictions and distinctions that you find in Ray-Jones were no longer relevant when Parr started photographing. There is a huge difference between society in the mid- and late-60s (Ray-Jones' world) and that of the 80s and early 90s (Parr's world). The clash between "old world" and "coming new world" that you find in the mid-60s, you no longer find in the 80s — at least from where I'm sitting: I'm no sociologist, and certainly no expert in defining what "Britishness" may be.

Here the often-quoted passage in Creative Camera in which Ray-Jones explains his vision:

"My aim is to communicate something of the spirit and the mentality of the English, their habits and their way of life, the ironies that exist in the way they do things, partly through their traditions and partly through the nature of their environment and their mentality. For me there is something very special about the English 'way of life' and I wish to record it from my particular point of view before it becomes Americanised and disappears."

 

[MattKing]

Liike Benny Hill. Or even Monty Python. Mr Bean ?

Or a slew of great movies.
One of my all time favourites being an example: "The Ruling Class".

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

He is one of the few where you recognize right away his pictures. His signature is unique. Brilliant photographer and delightful man.

 

[pentaxuser]

He is one of the few where you recognize right away his pictures. His signature is unique. Brilliant photographer and delightful man.

Isn't it the "style" one recognises rather when looking at several pictures than the picture itself. I imagine we may have several members here who might have taken similar pictures and were one of them to place one in the Gallery you might be unable to say who took it- Martin Parr or Mr X?

pentaxuser

 

[albireo]

Those who are displeased by Parr's portrayal of a certain section of the British working class would probably be absolutely outraged by the equally fascinating, and perhaps rawer, depiction of it by Billingham in his recently reissued [Mack, 2024] 'Ray's a laugh'.

Ray's a Laugh

First published in 1996 to enormous acclaim, Richard Billingham’s Ray’s a Laugh is one of the most significant photobooks of the turn of the twentieth century, as well as a cornerstone work of the Young British Artists generation. Formed of starkly intimate images of Billingham’s often chaotic parental home under the heavy effects of alcoholism and poverty, the book was produced in the 1990s with editors Michael Collins and Julian Germain. This new edition restores Billingham’s original vision for his deeply personal work for the first time. Including numerous unseen images and a distinct approach to sequencing inflected by Billingham’s training as a painter: it constitutes a ‘director’s cut’ and reintroduces a vital and consistently challenging work for a new era.

‘Ray’s a Laugh’ continues to court controversy

Though often pitched as an honest document of working class life under Thatcherism, it is more interesting to consider Ray’s a Laugh through the lens of contemporary social change and reaction to its release. The images, made by Billingham to work from as a painting student at Sunderland University, came into the public consciousness just before the landslide victory of Tony Blair’s New Labour government in 1997. Following the election, the UK’s cultural output became pitched centre stage after years of decline under Margaret Thatcher and John Major. The term ‘Cool Britannia’ was pushed as the umbrella term for this new cultural optimism, and musicians, artists, writers and celebrities were invited to 10 Downing Street to get drunk on champagne.

I own a copy, one of the most fascinating recent acquisitions in my collection. @Alex Benjamin I would be curious to know if you stumbled on it.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Those who are displeased by Parr's portrayal of a certain section of the British working class would probably be absolutely outraged by the equally fascinating, and perhaps rawer, depiction of it by Billingham in his recently reissued [Mack, 2024] 'Ray's a laugh'.

‘Ray’s a Laugh’ continues to court controversy



I own a copy, one of the most fascinating recent acquisitions in my collection. @Alex Benjamin I would be curious to know if you stumbled on it.

It's on my list! I've been fascinated by the images I've seen and what I've read about it, but I've had other priorities in terms of photo book buying these days, so it's not on my bookshelves. Yet.

Seems so profoundly human, with a description of poverty that's honest, true and unforgivingly real. And still somewhat tender.

I don't think it has much to do with Parr, though. More like a mix of Eugene Richards and Nan Goldin in the brutal directness of both its look and its subject. There's no humor here.

Since you have a copy and are familiar with it, please give us a more detailed account of what you like — and maybe dislike — about it.

Booze, jigsaws and rainbows: revisiting Ray’s a Laugh – in pictures

First published in 1996 to enormous acclaim, a new version of Richard Billingham’s seminal photobook features fresh images and the same stark depiction of poverty that feels more relevant than ever

www.theguardian.com

 

[albireo]

I don't think it has much to do with Parr, though. More like a mix of Eugene Richards and Nan Goldin in the brutal directness of both its look and its subject. There's no humor here.

Well ... I wasn't really thinking about the humour when I thought about parallels with Parr (although some might say the depiction of the alcoholic father has a affectionate, humorous undertone) but rather about the pretty raw/unfiltered social commentary aspect I detect in both.