By Elin Spring
“Photography is a form of collecting,” professes Magnum photographer Martin Parr (British, b. 1952), regarding his vast collection of collections often referred to as “Parr World.” Over a span of twenty-five years, for example, the inexhaustible Parr has amassed the largest privately held collection of photobooks in the world, acquired by the Tate Britain in 2017. But it is the collection of his own vivid cultural documentary photographs, created across five decades, that powers “Time and Place,” the first museum retrospective of Parr’s work in the US. Curated by Professor Karl Baden, the exhibit is on view at the McMullen Museum of Art on the campus of Boston College through June 5th, 2022.
“Kenmare Fair, County Kerry, August 1982” from the series Bad Weather © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos.
“New Brighton, England” from the series The Last Resort, 1983-85 © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos.
With over 135 works and an extensive selection of photobooks – representing some fifteen different series – displayed across two floors of the museum, it is advantageous to know that Parr considers it all to be so many chapters in one over-arching lifetime project: picturing the “leisure pursuits of the wealthy west.” Like many starting out in the 1970’s, he approached the world with a 35mm Leica camera loaded with B&W film. Inspired by the color work of contemporaries like William Eggleston and Stephen Shore, he transitioned in the 1980’s to a 6x7cm medium format camera and color film, fundamentally altering his practice and defining his style. While most of Parr’s work was located on the British Isles and Ireland – creating a de facto photographic journal of its changing social order – over time, his photography has increasingly encompassed a global backdrop.
Installation view of “Kleine Scheidegg, Switzerland, 1990” from the series Small World © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos (Photo by Elin Spring).
Most of the exhibit is devoted to Parr’s photographs of Ireland, tracing a narrative arc of its remarkable cultural changes from a largely rural, overwhelmingly Catholic nation in the 1970’s to the technology-driven, gentrified and predominantly secular economy of today. It is obvious that Parr is purely drawn to social interactions and their implications, never wading into the explosive political arena of “the troubles.”
“Glenbeigh Races, County Kerry, 1983” © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos. (Feature Image)
Starting with B&W work that conveys a time-capsule impression, Parr progresses to vivacious color shots with a sometimes jolting immediacy. Often shooting very close-up and employing an assertive flash, Parr’s implied social commentary initially incurred attacks for a lack of empathy, but the controversy also made him famous. With their clever framing, vibrant color juiced with flash, interplay of forms and hues, and contrasts in gesture, Parr’s images are decidedly high impact. His photographic trajectory from Ireland’s 1979 Papal visit to the now archetypal “flat white” specialty coffee is collected in the book and exhibition catalog “From the Pope to a Flat White: Ireland 1979-2019” (Damiani, 2020).
Installation view of “Galway Races, County Galway, 1994” © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos (Photo by Elin Spring).
Installation view of “Allihies, Kilnamanagh, County Cork, 1997” © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos (Photo by Elin Spring).
“Finglas Shopping Centre, Dublin, 1986” © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos.
Other projects in the exhibit share Parr’s obsession with public social transactions, while addressing different groups that seem defined by the very British concern with economic class. Early color work in “The Last Resort” depicts tired seaside resorts frequented by the working class, in which concerts of bodies sometimes recall the gestural qualities of Italian Renaissance paintings.
Installation view of “New Brighton, England” from the series The Last Resort, 1983-85 © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos (Photo by Elin Spring).
“Election Victory Party aboard the SS Great Britain, Bristol, England, 1988” from the series The Cost of Living © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos.
“Cost of Living” eschews the plight of the poor and escapades of the rich for the “overlooked” middle class (in which he includes himself). Reflecting on the 1980’s rise of a new middle class during Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s years in office, Parr’s often satirical glimpses insinuate a widening gap in social strata.
“The Great Sphinx, Giza, Egypt, 1992” from the series Small World © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos.
“The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy, 1990” from the series Small World © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos.
Parr’s ongoing project “Small World” focuses on global tourism, made at “sites almost destroyed by those who come to visit.” Taking a long view of people’s actions and interactions at these monuments, Parr explores ideas of mythology versus reality. In “Autoportraits,” Parr turns the camera on himself, expressing high irony regarding consumerism in his staged travel portraits. And there’s more.
“Benidorm, Spain, 1997” from the series Autoportraits © Martin Parr Collection, Magnum Photos.
“Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2009” from the series Autoportraits © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos.
Installation view of series of “Abandoned Morris Minors” cars, Ireland, 1980-82, © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos (Photo by Elin Spring).
From his poignant B&W pictures of abandoned cars to his inquiring photographs of model “show” homes in a transforming Dublin, and from his veneration of photobooks gathered from the world over to his ode to vernacular “Boring Postcards,” Parr nods to art history while offering his own revisionist account. By using symbolic elements to imply a greater story, Parr’s images can be interpreted as spirited and comical or acerbic and abrasive. Undoubtedly, he provokes strong opinions, from the father of “the decisive moment” Henri Cartier-Bresson who purportedly said, “you and I are from different planets” to the admiration of exemplary photographer and friend Chris Killip, to whom this exhibition is dedicated. It is well worth a journey to Parr’s “Time and Place” to decide for yourself.
“Show Homes, Dublin, 1986” © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos.
Our sincere thanks to Professor Karl Baden for his erudite and generous tour of the Martin Parr exhibition.
“From the Pope to a Flat White: Ireland 1979-2019” with text by Fintan O’Toole (Damiani, 2020). Also shown: “The Last Resort: Photographs of New Brighton” (Dewi Lewis, 1998), “A Fair Day: Photographs from the West of Ireland” (Promenade Press, 1984), “The Cost of Living” with text by Robert Chesshyre (Cornerhouse, 1989), and “Small World” with text by Simon Winchester (Dewi Lewis, 1995) (Photo by Elin Spring).
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