The photographer Martin Parr is having an exhibition in Bristol. He is the first photographer of note that I studied with though at that time he had only just joined Magnum as an associate; now he is a full member and head of Magnum UK.
There is an exhibition talk and I have been asking other OCA students to join me there via the OCA Flickr group ...
"An exhibition of Martin Parr's work is going to be on show in Bristol this autumn.
Parr is a leading UK photographer, head of Magnum UK, whose work attracts a lot of controversy; he is of interest not just to photographers but also students of visual culture.
Actually, anyone with an interest in contemporary Britain especially Bristol might like it ...
Any other OCA students interested in meeting up there?
Amano"
REVIEW
www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/jun/12/martin-parr-b...
DETAILS
events.magnumphotos.com/exhibition/bristol-and-west-photo...
BOOKLET download
www.intellectbooks.co.uk/File:download,id=424/2.martin%20...
Henri Cartier-Bresson, the great French photographer, was said to be "highly suspicious" of Martin Parr's work. The suggestion is that he is laughing at his subjects rather than documenting them.
Parr's photographs make me laugh and yet I wonder why.
Perhaps it is that by holding up very ordinary scenes for display, he is relieving us of the misery they tend to inflict upon us!? Perhaps he weighs on our capacity for guilt which is why some find him disturbing. Personally, I find his images full of insight and humour.
It seems easy to go over the top about Parr and so a little information might help to make any OCA conversation less backchat and more constructive.
Brian aka Noble Savage wrote ...
Where do you see opposition to Martin (Parr) Amano? He's always been controversial, particularly within Magnum, but I haven't heard anyone say he should go off and do something else.
I cringe rather than laugh at his photos, but both are valid emotional responses.
I enjoyed hearing him speak a few months back when he was very sharp with people who tried to praise him in intellectual terms, eg "how does your work achieve such a marvellous three-dimensionality?" - "what do you mean, it's a photo, it's only two dimensional". Inspirational..
I replied ...
Well, I have heard opposition to Martin Parr voiced on OCA days.
Was it not you Noble Savage who did a post about Parr's portrait day when he was photographing people for a tidy yet not unreasonable sum? You were quite surprised I think by some of the reactions to that post.
Parr is controversial for sure. I find myself trying to understand my reaction to his work ...
Brian continued ...
It was me who started that post, and I said I admired his marketing genius. At the end of that thread I also said "All my posts express my respect for Parr in some area. I also said I'd swap places with him anytime."
I was only surprised that people hadn't read my posts fully before metaphorically putting words in my mouth.
In a different post I also expressed admiration. I'm a big fan, perhaps just not unconditionally so.
I continued ...
Have just purchased a copy of Martin Parr by Val Williams (about £20) which contains images as well as a good critique of his work. I would like to develop a more informed view of this controversial leading UK photographer who seems to have a foot in both the documentary and the art world.
OCA tutor, Peter Haveland comments that some students particularly more mature ones tend to overlook contemporary work for more traditional or proven material. I know that when I went to Bradford this year for the OCA view of From Back Home, I had to see the Fay Godwin exhibition; the difference between the two exhibitions was striking.
A interview with Parr and a brief review of the exhibition that opened yesterday ... !
www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/8723045/The-...
I read Val Williams' book about Martin Parr (published by Phaidon). She starts by saying that Parr's photos "can make us feel very uncomfortable" which seems to be a fairly typical approach and one that I do not share. Apparently, Parr is good friends with Bruce Gilden which does not surprise me much yet reminds me of that other side to Parr, the side that is as tough and as solid as the metal and glass in his camera. I know I do not want to intrude into people's lives the way Gilden does on the streets of NYC and yet I don't see Parr as such a merciless snooper.
One of Parr's books that he sees as one of the most important is Common Sense; the cover shows a rusty model of the globe which is being used as a money box, a reflection of his "growing preoccupation with globalism and the corporate culture". Val Williams also describes this book as "violent", a violence that is increased by showing objects of possible veneration such as a cup of tea in a willow-patterned tea cup with more grotesque object of consumerism.
By 2001, Parr was quoted as saying that his best photography was behind him rather than in front of him. It is not easy to draw conclusions about him because his work is so diverse and complex in meaning. One might call him a post-modern photographer perhaps since he pays little attention to the so-called rules of photography in which composition is much more formal and colours not so gaudy.
There is an exhibition talk and I have been asking other OCA students to join me there via the OCA Flickr group ...
"An exhibition of Martin Parr's work is going to be on show in Bristol this autumn.
Parr is a leading UK photographer, head of Magnum UK, whose work attracts a lot of controversy; he is of interest not just to photographers but also students of visual culture.
Actually, anyone with an interest in contemporary Britain especially Bristol might like it ...
Any other OCA students interested in meeting up there?
Amano"
REVIEW
www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/jun/12/martin-parr-b...
DETAILS
events.magnumphotos.com/exhibition/bristol-and-west-photo...
BOOKLET download
www.intellectbooks.co.uk/File:download,id=424/2.martin%20...
Henri Cartier-Bresson, the great French photographer, was said to be "highly suspicious" of Martin Parr's work. The suggestion is that he is laughing at his subjects rather than documenting them.
Parr's photographs make me laugh and yet I wonder why.
Perhaps it is that by holding up very ordinary scenes for display, he is relieving us of the misery they tend to inflict upon us!? Perhaps he weighs on our capacity for guilt which is why some find him disturbing. Personally, I find his images full of insight and humour.
It seems easy to go over the top about Parr and so a little information might help to make any OCA conversation less backchat and more constructive.
Brian aka Noble Savage wrote ...
Where do you see opposition to Martin (Parr) Amano? He's always been controversial, particularly within Magnum, but I haven't heard anyone say he should go off and do something else.
I cringe rather than laugh at his photos, but both are valid emotional responses.
I enjoyed hearing him speak a few months back when he was very sharp with people who tried to praise him in intellectual terms, eg "how does your work achieve such a marvellous three-dimensionality?" - "what do you mean, it's a photo, it's only two dimensional". Inspirational..
I replied ...
Well, I have heard opposition to Martin Parr voiced on OCA days.
Was it not you Noble Savage who did a post about Parr's portrait day when he was photographing people for a tidy yet not unreasonable sum? You were quite surprised I think by some of the reactions to that post.
Parr is controversial for sure. I find myself trying to understand my reaction to his work ...
Brian continued ...
It was me who started that post, and I said I admired his marketing genius. At the end of that thread I also said "All my posts express my respect for Parr in some area. I also said I'd swap places with him anytime."
I was only surprised that people hadn't read my posts fully before metaphorically putting words in my mouth.
In a different post I also expressed admiration. I'm a big fan, perhaps just not unconditionally so.
I continued ...
Have just purchased a copy of Martin Parr by Val Williams (about £20) which contains images as well as a good critique of his work. I would like to develop a more informed view of this controversial leading UK photographer who seems to have a foot in both the documentary and the art world.
OCA tutor, Peter Haveland comments that some students particularly more mature ones tend to overlook contemporary work for more traditional or proven material. I know that when I went to Bradford this year for the OCA view of From Back Home, I had to see the Fay Godwin exhibition; the difference between the two exhibitions was striking.
A interview with Parr and a brief review of the exhibition that opened yesterday ... !
www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/8723045/The-...
I read Val Williams' book about Martin Parr (published by Phaidon). She starts by saying that Parr's photos "can make us feel very uncomfortable" which seems to be a fairly typical approach and one that I do not share. Apparently, Parr is good friends with Bruce Gilden which does not surprise me much yet reminds me of that other side to Parr, the side that is as tough and as solid as the metal and glass in his camera. I know I do not want to intrude into people's lives the way Gilden does on the streets of NYC and yet I don't see Parr as such a merciless snooper.
One of Parr's books that he sees as one of the most important is Common Sense; the cover shows a rusty model of the globe which is being used as a money box, a reflection of his "growing preoccupation with globalism and the corporate culture". Val Williams also describes this book as "violent", a violence that is increased by showing objects of possible veneration such as a cup of tea in a willow-patterned tea cup with more grotesque object of consumerism.
By 2001, Parr was quoted as saying that his best photography was behind him rather than in front of him. It is not easy to draw conclusions about him because his work is so diverse and complex in meaning. One might call him a post-modern photographer perhaps since he pays little attention to the so-called rules of photography in which composition is much more formal and colours not so gaudy.
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