Cool. Apparantly you can see it on Vimeo on demand for: $2.99.
Not today, but bookmarked.
Cool. Apparantly you can see it on Vimeo on demand for: $2.99.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.
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.
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 worldwww.theguardian.com
By the way. Think of England is on Youtube - not the greatest transfer, though.The programmes are called: "I am Martin Parr" and "Martin Parr- Think of England
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
Photography is not about humour
Liike Benny Hill. Or even Monty Python. Mr Bean ?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.
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 is Tony Ray-Jones being pure proto-Martin Parr-ish, depicting the contradictions and absurdies of British society.
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."
Liike Benny Hill. Or even Monty Python. Mr Bean ?
He is one of the few where you recognize right away his pictures. His signature is unique. Brilliant photographer and delightful man.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?