Martin Parr is a British photographer who’s style of photography has changed and influenced photographers all around world and has contributed massively into creating a genre of photography all of his own, snapshot photography. Born in 1952 England, his childhood saw an increasing view of social class and change and so followed in his grandfathers footsteps exploring and tackling these changes with his raw approach.
He studied photography at Manchester Polytechnic from 1970-1973 and was part of an up and coming new generation of documentary photographers, others included Daniel Meadows and Brian Griffin, they called themselves the New British Photographers and worked together on various different photography projects together. After he then married and moved to West Yorkshire where for 5 years he stuided the Methodist Baptist church and the isolated farming families that surrounded them, he used black and white as a tool to be seen as an adult professional photographer which worked as this work called The Non-Conformists was picked up art critics and exhibited widely at the time.
The work I am interested in came after, the series called ‘ the working class- The Last Resort 1982-1985, this collection of work was shot on a 35mm camera with use of heavy saturation and macro lens looks at leisure, communication and consumption. He took the images in New Brighton England and was inspired by American Photographers like Joel Meyerowitz, William Eggleston and Stephen Shore to use garish bold colours to help convey his themes and explain that his photographs are all about societies exaggeration upon social classes and to change the idea that professional photography has to be in black and white only to be taken seriously.
All these images are untitled but taken from the collection, the working class- The Last Resort.
These images are really symbolic of the time, the USA was having a huge impact on the way British people were viewing consumption as it was the first time after the wars where food, material and money was cheap and in plenty of supply. He puts his subjects underneath a microscope and allows them to flourish in their own chosen environment and capture their behavior as it happens naturally. Parr’s images are not trying to directly imply a strong message about the people within the images, he simply documented them in a certain style which enables us to take a step back and see what he wants us to. This is a very effective use of photography and is enables for Parr to take regular holiday style photographs which have enormous depth and a dash of criticism and sarcasm to them.
His images make the audience see a reflection upon themselves as most of the working class people are or have been in these situations and scene and so can easily relate and understand the people in the images and maybe feel embarrassed to think that that could have been them. He makes the audience feel guilty that they are contributing to this consumerism life style and allows them to assess their behavior and question whether or not they want to be a part of it.
The colours are so rich and powerful that even if you don’t see yourself within the images the colour will draw you in and catch your immediate attention. The images look how the scenes would appear if you was wearing sun glasses on a sunny day. The angles of the images are also very interesting as Parr has taken careful consideration into how he wants the audience to judge and empathize the people within the image and so uses composition and angles to do convey this. His stark and dry sense of humor is also shown within the images as he chooses to take the photo at purposely times, showing people eating or shouting, to really convey the animistic value hes trying to compare and make similarities too.
His images have been as great inspiration to my work as photographing snap shot style saturated images are something that can either look really awful and miss the point or can be an effective way of capturing charismatic moments that the disposable elements highlight better than a DSLR ever could. I will be using the bold colours as a choice thanks to Martin Parrs collection and choice the images which are most entertaining and convey the same humor as Parr.
Referencing:
Websites :
http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_9_VForm&ERID=24KL5357TF
Introduction
Books:
Title: Martin Parr : the non-conformists Author: Parr, Martin ; Parr, Susie writer of added commentary, Statement of Responsibility: photographs by Martin Parr ; text by Susie ParrPublisher: Aperture , Creation Date: 2013
Title: The last resort : photographs of New Brighton Author: Parr, Martin, Statement of Responsibility: photographs by Martin Parr., Edition: Rev. ed. / introduced by Gerry Badger, Description: Previous ed.: 1998, Publisher: Dewi Lewis ,Creation Date: 2009
Title: Martin Parr : by Sandra S. Phillips, Author: Phillips, Sandra S, City of publication: London , Publisher: Phaidon Press, Creation Date: 2007
Title: The cost of living, Author: Parr, Martin, Statement of Responsibility: photographs by M Parr ; texts by R Chesshyre, Publisher: Cornerhouse, Creation Date: 1989
Title: Martin Parr, Author: Williams, Val, City of publication: London , : Phaidon Press, Creation Date: 2002
Journals:
Title: Shooting the consumer; Martin Parr.(Features), Author: Peter Hamilton, Is Part Of: Sunday Times (London, England), July 2, 1995, p.21
Title: Going Nowhere: Tourist Practices and Photographic Representations of Tourists in Small World by Martin Parr, Author: Nilsson, Maria, Is Part Of: Journeys, 2, 2, 79-97(19) , Creation Date: 2001