Last night I was really lucky to attend a talk by the legendary British Magnum documentary photographer Martin Parr at Wolverhampton's Lighthouse Media Centre (an awesome venue by the way!). The talk was in collaboration with recent his exhibition 'Black Country Stories' for which he spent 1 year documenting life in the Black Country.
I have been a fan of MP's work for a long time and for anyone who doesn't know his story, he was born in Surrey in 1952 and studied photography at Manchester Polytechnic in the early 1970's. He went on to pioneer a seminal style of social documentary photography in the 1980's that is for me a breath of fresh air in a genre of photography that is quite often very serious - his photos are quirky, humorous, colourful with a wonderfully TACKY postcard feel to them (he told us that postcards are a big source of inspiration to him!). His subjects add to his appeal and he chooses to focus on areas that are neglected by other photographers and often subverting social ideals and norms, his images being a unique perspective on (more often than not) British life and it's culture.
(A photo from 'The Last Resort' documenting the seaside resort of New Brighton in Merseyside, 1984)
(A photo from 'British Food', 1995)
I really, really enjoyed hearing Martin Parr talk about his work and I loved hearing about the things he likes to collect - most often things with photos on - trays, commemorative plates and, er, his prized Saddam Hussain watch collection! I am always amazed at the sheer amount of tacky items that you see sold in shops and on the internet and to see photos of themed items brought together is his collections was brilliant - I LOVED them!
(A few of MP's prized Suddam Hussain watches!)
(Collection of plates commemorating the Miners' Strike (1984-1985). Photograph by Colin Davison)
The best thing about the talk for me was that is reminded me what is was that I Ioved about photography when I first started shooting. I too have always been drawn towards things that are colourful and quirky and I was surprised how excited and ALIVE I felt looking at Martin Parr's work and it reminded of some of the sets of photos that I shot a few years ago when I was still a student - 'TackyToyTastic', 'Grandaddy Cool' and 'Retro Bizarre' bring just a few, I think its about time I dug them out for an airing!
Here are a few photos of the talk and exhibition from last night taken on my compact:
(During the talk - thats Martin Parr's head on a beefcakes body if you didn't realise!)
(Magnets to hold the prints on the wall - Martin Parr is known for his unconventional style of exhibiting his work, and this is quite tame compared to some other exhibitions he's done!)
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