Getting to know Martin Parr and his latest work | Only Human: Martin Parr is at the National Portrait Gallery from 21 February 2019 to 27 May 2019. Sponsored by GUCCI & Bern Schwartz Foundation
MARTIN PARR
Martin Parr has published over one hundred books of his own work, and edited a further thirty. Prolific in his activities, Parr has featured in more than a hundred exhibitions worldwide Parr’s work has been collected by many of the major museums, including the Tate, the Pompidou and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1994 he became a full member of Magnum Photographic Cooperative and was elected president of Magnum Photos International (2013-2017). Parr is a Visiting Professor at Ulster University. Parr studied photography at Manchester Polytechnic in the early 1970s and formed an integral part of a new wave of documentary photographers who revolutionised the genre. He achieved international recognition for photographic projects, such as The Last Resort (1983-85) and The Cost of Living (1987-89), which take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in particular, documenting the social classes of England and the increasing consumerism of the Western world. In 2017, Parr opened the Martin Parr Foundation, a new centre for British photography in Bristol, which aims to support and promote photographers who have made, and continue to make, important work focused on the British Isles.
ONLY HUMAN EXHIBITION
New and previously unseen photographs which reveal photographer Martin Parr’s take on the social climate in the aftermath of the EU referendum, have gone on public display for the first time in a major new exhibition of works by one of Britain’s best-known and most widely celebrated photographers at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Only Human: Martin Parr, brings together some of Parr’s best known photographs with new work by Parr never exhibited before, to focus on one of his most engaging subjects – people. Featuring portraits of people from around the world, the exhibition examines national identity today, both in the UK and abroad with a special focus on Parr’s wry observations of Britishness. As well as Britain in the time of Brexit, the exhibition focuses on the British Abroad including photographs made in British Army camps overseas, and Parr’s long term study of the British ‘Establishment’ including recent photographs taken at Christ’s Hospital school in Sussex, Oxford and Cambridge Universities and the City of London, revealing the obscure rituals and ceremonies of British life.
Although best known for capturing ordinary people, Parr has also photographed celebrities and models throughout his career.
For the first time Only Human: Martin Parr reveals a selection of portraits of renowned personalities, most of which have never been exhibited before, including British fashion legends Vivienne Westwood and Paul Smith, contemporary artists Tracey Emin and Grayson Perry and world-renowned football player Pelé.
Other new works explore the quirks of leisure activities today, a subject Parr has explored since the 1980s. Parr photographs trips to the beach, tennis tournaments – from Wimbledon to the US Open – and a day at the races, to reveal the eccentricities of everyday life. These images take the visitor on a colour-saturated journey through places where public and private worlds intersect. Other photographs capture the infectious joy of dancing, an everyday activity enjoyed by people across the globe.
Martin Parr also features the unforgettable self-portraits Parr has made throughout his career. For over thirty years, Parr has visited studio photographers, street photographers and photo booths across the globe to have his portrait taken. The resulting Autoportraits raise questions about portraiture and the business of portrait photography, showcasing a range of fascinating and often humorous settings employed by professional portraitists.
Works on display include his Photo Escultura, a group of shrine-like carved photo-sculptures, based on Parr’s likeness and commissioned from the last remaining traditional maker in Mexico City, which have never been exhibited in the UK before.
The exhibition also includes a pop up café inspired by Martin Parr’s iconic food photography and the traditional British ‘caff’. Visitors can purchase a selection of Great British tea-time treats and beverages such as a ‘nice cup of tea’ and a slice of Battenberg, or an exclusive ‘Only Human’ beer created in collaboration with British craft brewe Lost and Grounded Brewers, Bristol during the Gallery’s Friday Lates (18.00 – 21.00).
Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, said: “We are delighted to be able to display so many new works by one of Britain’s most widely-celebrated photographers in this major new exhibition. Martin
Parr’s witty, surprising and ingenious photographs not only reveal the eccentricities of modern life with affection and insight, they also change the way we look at ourselves, and the way we consider our relationship to the wider world.
Philip Prodger, curator of Only Human: Martin Parr says “Provocative, surprising, and ultimately uplifting, Martin
Parr explores the great issues of our time with sensitivity, compassion and a sense of fun. This is an exhibition that will make you think, and leave you with a smile on your face.”
Only Human: Martin Parr is curated by Dr. Phillip Prodger, Senior Research Scholar, Yale Center for British Art.
PUBLICATION
Phaidon have published a new book on Martin Parr’s work to accompany the exhibition. The most comprehensive volume on Parr’s work since his 2002 monograph, Only Human features over 200 images by Parr, many featuring in the exhibition, alongside newly commissioned and enlightening essays by exhibition curator, Phillip Prodger, and an Itroduction by Grayson Perry.
Only Human contributes to an ongoing debate about what it means to be British in an international context and reflects on the shared cultural and social history that defines the United Kingdom during a moment of change.” Martin Parr says:
MARTIN PARR
“I am very excited to have the opportunity to show my work at such a prestigious Gallery. One of he main themes is British identity and given March 2019 is when we are supposedly leaving the European Union, the timing could not be better.”
Only Human: Martin Parr, 7 March – 27 May 2019 at the National Portrait Gallery, London www.npg.org.uk
Tickets without donation £18
Tickets with donation £20
Free for Members and Patrons
npg.org.uk/martinparr
£5 ticket for under 25s
INTERVIEW
How did you start your career as a photographer?
I first got interested in photography when I was a teenager and went to visit my Grandfather near Bradford. He was a keen amateur photographer and he lent me a camera and we would go out together shooting. We would come back, process the films and make prints and ever since this time I have always wanted to be a photographer.
You studied photography at Manchester Polytechnic between 1970 and 72, what was this like for you?
In these days the idea of a college was to learn to be a photographer by becoming an assistant, so they taught us all the basic studio techniques and things like reciprocity failure. I quickly got fed up with this input and started working on my own projects. This meant I was having to justify my work and this, I guess, was good practice for fighting for what I believed in.
What photographers were you influenced by in these early days?
Before college I had seen the work of Bill Brandt and Cartier Bresson, as well as seeing copies of Creative Camera magazine with images by Frank and Friedlander and Winogrand. However it was while I was at college that Bill Jay came round and showed the work of Tony Ray-Jones and this for me was a real moment of inspiration.
What did you do after leaving college?
I first worked at Manchester Council for Community Relations for about 3 months and then started working towards my Home Sweet Home exhibition at the Impressions Gallery in York.
When and why did you change from black and white to colour?
I did do some colour within the Home Sweet Home project in the early 70’s, but it wasn’t until 1982 when I moved back from Ireland that took to colour in a serious way. This was sparked off by seeing the colour work emerge from the US from photographers such as Joel Meyerowitz, William Eggleston and Stephen Shore. I had also encountered the post cards of John Hinde when I worked at Butlin’s in the early 70’s and the bright saturated colour of these had a big impact on me.
How did you achieve these bright colours?
I used amateur film, most recently Fuji 400 Superior for the 6/7 cm camera and Agfa Ultra or Fuji 100 asa film for the ring flash and macro lens. This combined with flash gives very high colour saturation, there is no Photoshop used.
Now that you use digital, do you pump up the colours using Photoshop?
No, not at all, I just let the colour look as natural as possible, but of course flash does help saturation.
What cameras do you use?
For the 35mm it is a Nikon 60mm macro lens combined with a SB29 ring flash. This gives a shadow on both sides of the lens and is like a portable studio light. For the early black and white work it was a Leica M3 with a 35mm lens. When I moved to 6/7cm in The Last Resort it was a Makina Plaubel with a 55mm lens. I later bought a standard lens Plaubel and more recently Mamiya 7’s
For digital see later question.
Do you think your work is exploitative?
I think that all photography involving people has an element of exploitation, and therefore I am no exception. However it would be a very sad world if photographers were not allowed to photograph in public places. I often think of what I photograph as a soap opera where I am waiting for the right cast to fall into place. In more recent years I have photographed much closer where bits of people and food become part of the big picture, and one advantage of this is that it means people are less recognisable.
How do you get so close to people?
If you photograph for a long time, you get to understand such things as body language. I often do not look at the people I photograph, especially afterwards. Also when I want a photo, I become somewhat fearless, and this helps a lot. There will always be someone who objects to being photographed, and when this happens you move on.
Why did you start to DO TV?
One thing I had noticed over the years was that the dialogue I often had with my subjects was very entertaining, so I welcomed the chance to incorporate this into part of my work. You can see clips from some of these films on the website. I also did a video for the Pet Shop Boys in 2002.
In the years 2011-2013, I have made four films for Multistory around the Black Country. You can see clips of these in the film section on the site.
I have also done the recent new idents for BBC1 under the banner of ‘Oneness’
When did you first do fashion photography?
The Italian magazine Amica were the first people to commission fashion work in roughly 1999, I now do about 4/5 fashion shoots a year. I am currently exploring the whole idea of making fashion look more believable and like the idea of doing street casting, indeed trying to make fashion not look like fashion.
What is your relationship to humour?
I feel I am part of a long tradition in the UK in employing irony as part of my work. Although I deal with serious subjects these can be made more accessible with this element thrown in. Also that same vulnerability that comics often deal with is very similar to the vulnerability and ambiguities, I want to illustrate.
Tell us about your problems when you joined Magnum.
It is no secret when I joined, there was opposition from the more conservative wing within Magnum. However I eventually got the 66.6% required to be a member. In politics, this is regarded as a landslide!
And your spat with Henri Cartier-Bresson?
Henri came to my Small World opening in Paris in 1995 and said I was from another planet! I always cherish this remark, and wrote back, I know what you mean, but why shoot the messenger?
Whose work do you admire from contemporary photographers?
I am a great fan of the work that emerged from the Becher school, indeed these photographers changed the way in which the art world viewed photography from a marginal activity to being a central player and I guess we all benefit from this. I also like contemporaries such as Lorca Di Corcia, Paul Shambroom, Joan Fontcuberta and many photographers from Japan. There are many of my colleagues in Magnum I admire like Bruce Gilden, Alec Soth, Gilles Perres and Jim Goldberg.
Talking of Japan, why are you so attracted to this country and their photographers?
I started going to Japan in around 1990 and have been virtually every year since. Araki for example has explored more ideas in book publishing and exhibiting than any other photographer I know, and I was particularly struck by his Banquet book in the mid 90’s. They also have made some of the best designed and printed photo books since the war.
I read that you said you thought your best work was behind you?
Yes this was a remark in passing when I did an interview in 2000. I still think it is probably true and this remark could be said about many mid career artists and photographers. I think the energy and passion you have when you start out as a photographer is difficult to match. I still enjoy working but one reason why I try many new challenges is to stop me going stale and keep me on my toes.
Why did you start to use digital?
I guess it is one of those things that eventually catches up with you. So in 2006 I took the plunge by buying a small digital Sony and in 2007 a Canon 5D, later upgrading to a Canon 5D Mark 4. I am now conversant with the Canon and I really like the way you can balance the ambient light with the flash. I do this with the aid of my Gary Fong diffuser which I find invaluable. I also have a Canon ring flash, so with one camera and 2 flash guns, I can virtually replicate any of my previous techniques. The thing people do not realise with digital is that what you should be constantly adjusting is the iso.
Yes we have in my studio a Canon ipf8300 pigment printer, and all new production is done on this. This is great news as we are able to control the quality of printing very carefully. I also very much like the fact that these new pigment ink prints are ten times more archival than a traditional c-print.
Why do you feel so passionately about photobooks?
Yes, that’s true. I firmly believe that the photo book is still an underestimated asset in the cultural history of photography. Speaking as a photographer it is the one vehicle for photography that has influenced, not just me, but many photographers in a very big way.
Finally in this last decade, there has been a strong revival of interest in the photobook. I worked with Gerry Badger on Volume 3 of the History of the Photobook, published by Phaidon in 2014.
In 2017 I gifted/sold my book collection to the Tate Gallery.
Have you any tips for an aspiring photographer?
Good photography can emerge when you make a good connection to a subject. So part of the skill is to find the right subject and to then get involved in a very thorough and meaningful way with this, and the excitement of this discovery and process can be the starting point for a good project.
How do you feel about this idea, that with the likes of Instagram and Flikr there are so many photographers out there now?
I welcome all of the different platforms for photography and their proliferation. These users are often the main audience for consuming books and shows about photography.
What is the Beach Therapy project?
I love to try different approaches to photography and in recent years I have started to explore what is possible with a telephoto lens. As the beach has always been an experimental place to explore new ideas, I called the new work that emerged, Beach Therapy.
What is the Martin Parr Foundation?
I started this in 2014, and in 2017 opened a building to house it in Bristol, where I live. This has a gallery, and will have a library and research room in the future. The mission is to preserve my own archive and also to promote British documentary work. We have a website, martinparrfoundation.org for more details.
What’s next?
I am currently working on an exhibition for the National Portrait Gallery which opens in 2019.
Nice, France, 2015. Picture credit: © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
Harbhajan Singh, Willenhall Market, Walsall, the Black Country, England, 2011. Picture credit: © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
Mary Lynn Myrkel, Gay Pride march, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2010. Picture credit: © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
Vivienne Westwood, designer, London, England, 2012. Picture credit: © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
The Perry Family – daughter Florence, Philippa and Grayson, London, England, 2012. Picture credit: © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
Magdalene Ball, Cambridge, England, 2015. Picture credit: © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
Durban July races, South Africa, 2005. Picture credit: © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
Stone Cross Parade, St George’s Day, West Bromwich, the Black Country, England, 2017. Picture credit: © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
Preparing lobster pots, Newlyn Harbour, Cornwall, England, 2018. Picture credit: © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
Porthcurno, Cornwall, England, 2017. Picture credit: © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
The Queen visiting the Livery Hall of the Drapers’ Livery Company for their 650th Anniversary, the City of London, London, England, 2014. Picture credit: © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
Bad Fallingbostel army base, Heidekreis, Lower Saxony, Germany, 2013. Picture credit: © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
Sorrento, Italy, 2014. Picture credit: © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos