Martin Parr

[connealy]

Martin Parr by Val Williams,  2002 Phaidon Press Limited

I have to admit I didn't pay much attention to the work of Martin Parr over the years, even though he has been taking pictures about as long as I have.  The few images of his I stumbled on by accident seemed garish and cruel.  That is a judgment that has often been made of his work, and probably for the same reason - ignorance.  
    The thing that this book does is to present enough of Parr's vision to allow a proper appreciation of the monumental work he did in documenting his society at a time of revolutionary change.  He poked his camera in people's faces, most often with a fill-flash, and caught extraordinary glimpes into everyday life that is more ephemeral than anyone could have guessed.  The author, Val Williams, does a nice job of locating Parr in the landscape of UK and world photography.  Williams also shows enough of Parr's biography from his teenage years onward to give a real sense of how such a creative individual develops -- a curious mix in the case of Parr who was an early trainspotter, obsessive collector, and borderline social misfit.
    There are some inexplicable lapses in Williams' account.  She and Parr repeatedly refer to Robert Frank as an American photographer.  While it is true he did emigrate to the States, it seems to me that it was his non-American perspective that made his work so acute and captivating.  I suppose that can be debated.  The other thing that stands out for me is that Monte Python is nowhere mentioned in the Parr book.  How anyone could fail to make that connection in talking about Parr is beyond me.  Anyway, those are really minor quibbles, the book seems to me a great introduction to an amazing and unique talent.
    How I got this rather sumptious book is something of a story too.  At my local used bookstore I was happy to find a flimsy little exhibit catalog about some of Don Worth's work; I didn't give a thought to the $3.50 price.  Then, I stumbled on the Parr book and started leafing through it; its heft and the quantity of fine color print reproductions were a tip-off that it was something I would likely need to browse at the bookstore only.  Then, I turned to the front page and saw the price: $2.00.  I looked at it for a long time, then took it to the front desk to ask about the price and also about the Phaidon stamp which stated it to be a "non-mint copy".  The son of the book store owner explained that this was probably a copy meant to be put on the shelf in a retail store for people to browse, but not really intended for purchase.  He said he thought the price may have been marked in by someone other than the store's staff, but he said I could have it for that anyway.  I don't know why he felt compelled to give it to me.  Perhaps he recognized me as a regular, or maybe he thought I would cause a scene over a mismarked item.  I stopped asking questions, and forked over the $3.50 for the Worth pamphlet and the two bucks for the Parr book.  Until I got home, I didn't notice the original price tag on the back cover: $75.  It is a mint copy and I feel a bit guilty about it; I am almost tempted to take it back and ask for a two-dollar refund.  Almost.
    If you can't get the deal on the book I did, Parr's web site is certainly worth a visit.

[connealy]

In addition to dispelling some of my ignorance about Martin Parr, the book by Val Williams also woke me up to the fact that I don't know anything about the recent (post '1970) history of photography in the UK.  Williams mentioned a couple dozen photographers in talking about Parr, and I found I didn't know a one.  I would be interested in suggestions for books that might provide an introduction to UK photographers, or for links to web sites that show the work of Parr's contemporaries.

[sandeha]

I find it pretty daunting to remember photographer's names let alone who belongs where, but those who worked for the press in the UK have always been more accessible than those 'artists' who limit themselves to the galleries.  There have been so many, some I might have noted for one single shot, others for an extensive body of immediately identifiable work.  Thinking of a few  that I like:

Jane Bown born 1925.

Bryan Wharton born 1939.

Nicholas Sinclair born 1954.

Lee Frost born 1966.

Each different in style and subject matter, but all were working concurrently in the nineties, no matter if they had peaked by then or had yet to do so.  There are bound to be stories about who switched to this or that system and when, but much of the work comes across as a consistent flow - a sense of their evolving not always being immediately obvious.

Good sites for browsing might be The National Portrait Gallery  and The National Museum of Photography, Film, and Television.

[KirkT]

I have the Jane Brown book Faces.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1855858657/002-4403039-2270417?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance

In one part, she discusses how she was to photgraph Alex Guiness.  When she saw him she though that he looked so old and didn't really look like she remembered.  Her idea was to have him peek around the corner and when he did she took the photo.  The peeking caused a natural innocent look to come out of him.  It's a wonderful book and a informative read.

[connealy]

Thanks for all the great suggestions; that list will keep me busy for a while.  I know it is no longer fashionable to evaluate artists' work based on their national origins, but I'm an old fashioned kind of guy, I guess.

[Peter Evans]

Parr's website requires Flash or some such gimmickry. Thanks but no thanks.

Somewhere, probably in a box, I think (and hope!) I have a copy of his early B/W book Bad Weather. I found it among my father's stuff after his death. I don't think he knew anything about Parr's other work, and when I first saw the book (and for some time after) I didn't either. This seems to be quite a rarity. Rarity aside, it's an enjoyable book of photos of people surviving the worst of Britain's notorious weather (or so my ever unreliable memory tells me).

British photographers whose work is worth a look include:

Fay Godwin
Chris Killip
Don McCullin
Tony Ray-Jones
Chris Steele-Perkins

Don't miss Martin Parr's three or more books full of "Boring Postcards".

[connealy]

I have the Jane Brown book Faces.

From the Amazon listing, it looks like something you might want to hold onto.
"1 used & new  available from $1,370.40"

[KirkT]

Ooooo, and it's marked down from $20.00.  

Well, I'm not that attached to it so I'll be more than willing to sell it to anybody here for $1,000.   :lol:

[jake]

http://www.abebooks.com

The best place to find out of print photography books I think.

You'll find one copy selling for $3000 right above another copy selling for $30.

J Ake :twisted:

[KirkT]

Guess I shouldn't have set my glass of bourbon on it last night.  

[Peter Evans]

Another vote for abebooks, and particularly for the option to register and create a "wants" list. The book you want for $30 or so is only available there for $120? Just stick it in your wants list and wait for email telling you a cheaper copy has turned up somewhere. It probably will, eventually. Used book prices are rather erratic (including unexpectedly low), and if you can be patient you can benefit from this.

[Trevor Hare]

I have been buying Martin Parr's work for about 9 years now. (Started with 'Last Resort')

I have always liked his jaundiced eye on the world of English class and the tacky ephemera of modern living. His critics only really started attacking him when he (a) became incredibly successful  (b) turned his viewfinder on his own (and the critic's) type of comfortable, chattering classes. Unforgiveable! (c) started working in colour. And what colour!  Plaubel wide angle rangefinder with glorious Agfa Ultra 50 120 rollfilm and fill flash. This guy has to wade right in and engage to get his shots (no telephotos or 'hit'n run for him) which could be difficult for a reticent & well spoken 6' 2" middle class chap dressed like a schoolteacher with a giant camera who lopes up to you in the supermarket/cafe and requests your picture or gets his (other fave set-up) 35mm SLR with macro and ring flash into your shopping basket or cafe meal to record it.  

They (the critics) were OK until he made a pile of cash, became well known and was invited to join Magnum. After that they started to accuse him of poking fun out of the underclass and that which they consume and their culture. Only partly true.  He reveals everyone from all walks of life with an equally razor sharp wit and complete lack of mercy.

The old magnum 'beardies' hated him of course. But they needed him (and others just  like him) more than they professed to loath his 'lack of humanity' because Magnum was fast going down the tubes as a 'force' in the industry. They were fast becoming a buch of old guys in a self congratulatory clique living off past glories and endlessly trying to recycle stuff that was new decades before.

Martin Parr and other new blood brought Magnum back to the high street bookshelves / international Art  Galleries / Sunday colour supplements and television. (There have been a number of programmes in the UK about Martin Parr and consulted on by him.)  Martin also worked (and still works) on many high profile corporate Ad campaigns.  

I love it.

[Peter Evans]

The old magnum 'beardies' [...] were fast becoming a buch of old guys in a self congratulatory clique living off past glories and endlessly trying to recycle stuff that was new decades before.

Who are these "beardies"? (Larry Towell? Chris Steele-Perkins? Carl De Keyser?)

[Peter Evans]

One of the few joys of moving house is finding things that you do appreciate and have mislaid. I've just reencountered my copy of Martin Parr's Bad Weather.

It's better than I'd remembered it to be. The north of England, mostly, but also the south, and Ireland too, in weather ranging from depressing to utterly foul.

I also reencountered my first edition Perspectives of Nudes (Bill Brandt), which I'd been very amused to find amid a small collection of vintage softcore porn in a small local bookshop. That was good too, but it was Bad Weather that had me turning page after page when I should have been doing other things.

I'm not familiar with the big Parr book shown at the top of this thread -- I've only seen it from the outside. If it includes much (all?) of Bad Weather, the earlier book probably isn't worth the high prices it commands, for its printing quality is poor by today's art book standards. But it might be worth remembering. For one thing, the photos aren't savage, and many of them could be regarded as -- no, they even are, funny; and thus it's the kind of book that might be found in a "humorous picture-book" section of some used bookshop.

[connealy]

There are 14 large reproductions from Bad Weather in the big Phaidon book on Parr.  I'm guessing the appearance of the original publication did not stimulate a lot of tourism to the U.K.