Martin Parr
Martin Parr
Martin Parris a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in particular documenting the social classes of England, and more broadly the wealth of the Western world. His major projects have been rural communities, The Last Resort, The Cost of Living, Small Worldand Common Sense...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPhotographer
Date of Birth25 May 1952
interesting people photographer
I looked around at what my colleagues were doing, and asked myself, 'What relationship has it with what's going on?' I found there was a great distortion of contemporary life. Photographers were interested only in certain things. A visually interesting place, people who were either very rich or very poor, and nostalgia.
war lines photographer
Magnum photographers were meant to go out as a crusade ... to places like famine and war and ... I went out and went round the corner to the local supermarket because this to me is the front line.
photography photographer remember
Everyone is a photographer now, remember. That's the great thing about photography.
hard
We live in a homogenized world, where it's hard to get excited when everything is slick and professional. The interesting things are the dull things.
We live in a difficult but inspiring world, and there is so much out there that I want to record.
Sometimes you feel uncomfortable taking a photograph, but that's all part of the job.
call fulfilling relaxing taking trip work
Personally, I don't take holidays; I go on trips. My idea of relaxing is taking a trip that isn't commissioned. I'll work just as hard, but without that nagging pressure of fulfilling a commission. Now that's what I call a holiday.
exotic subject
Most of us, when we go out with a camera in our own country, try to find exotic subject matter to photograph.
love platform privileged
I love curating, because I'm lucky and privileged that I have a platform and I can share my discoveries with other people.
passed
My father was an obsessive bird-watcher. The genes of observation passed down.
aficionado british famous great throughout visited worked
I pride myself in being an aficionado of the British seaside. Throughout my career, I have visited and worked in many of the famous British resorts, from Great Yarmouth to Largs.
attracted
In New York, you have the street; in the U.K., we have the beach. I end up being like a migrating bird, being attracted to it.
everywhere jarring
If there is any jarring at all in my photographs, it's because we are so used to ingesting pictures of everywhere looking beautiful.
projects travel work
By default, I am a travel photographer. I work on a combination of commissions and personal projects that take me around the world.