A FEAST FOR THE EYES
For the new exhibition at The Photographer's Gallery comes this crass little gem. If it is meant to be funny it is lost on me! Amongst the most patronising of our reportage photographers former president of the legendary Magnum group who largely are known for supporting and saluting the artist/photographer, I guess photo journalists are included too*.
I find the work of Parr extremely tiresome and pointless, like so much commercial photojournalism, tomorrow's chip paper he seemed so fond of (sic) derivative of the work of much better true art-photographers than he, from the legendary (Tony Ray Jones) to the contemporary (Tom Wood, Paddy Summerfield, Peter Mitchell and Peter Fraser) Parr's work is in essence superficial and schnide and deeply condescending towards it's subject (the one thing that the work of Summerfield, Wood and Ray-Jones never is or was, containing as they do genuine human warmth towards their subjects.
Parr has since opened the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol largely being a vanity project consisting of collections of his own work and his collection of printed ephemera from wall paper samples to prostitute calling cards in the old telephone boxes (what WERE you doing in THERE Martin?).
Parr claims in his wiki entry to have been inspired by the great American photographers Joel Meyerwitz , William Eggleston and Stephen Shore, frankly he is not even remotely in the same league. His fellow students at Manchester like Daniel Meadows and Brian Griffin are infinitely more expressive and genuinely interesting whose work generates and rewards frequent return visits, like much of the best of great art, Parr's work sadly does not. Once you 'get' it the work bears little value in viewing it ever again. Still he is nothing if not certain of his own worth, who else opens their own foundation to spread their own work!?
I find the work of Parr extremely tiresome and pointless, like so much commercial photojournalism, tomorrow's chip paper he seemed so fond of (sic) derivative of the work of much better true art-photographers than he, from the legendary (Tony Ray Jones) to the contemporary (Tom Wood, Paddy Summerfield, Peter Mitchell and Peter Fraser) Parr's work is in essence superficial and schnide and deeply condescending towards it's subject (the one thing that the work of Summerfield, Wood and Ray-Jones never is or was, containing as they do genuine human warmth towards their subjects.
Parr has since opened the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol largely being a vanity project consisting of collections of his own work and his collection of printed ephemera from wall paper samples to prostitute calling cards in the old telephone boxes (what WERE you doing in THERE Martin?).
Parr claims in his wiki entry to have been inspired by the great American photographers Joel Meyerwitz , William Eggleston and Stephen Shore, frankly he is not even remotely in the same league. His fellow students at Manchester like Daniel Meadows and Brian Griffin are infinitely more expressive and genuinely interesting whose work generates and rewards frequent return visits, like much of the best of great art, Parr's work sadly does not. Once you 'get' it the work bears little value in viewing it ever again. Still he is nothing if not certain of his own worth, who else opens their own foundation to spread their own work!?
Recipe of the Month...
Martin Parr's Beans on Toast
Ingredients:2 x slices of white bread
1 x tin of beans
1 x tin of beans
Method:
1. Toast bread
2. Heat beans
3. Tip onto buttered toast (very important - the toast needs to be buttered, no marg allowed!)
4. Serve
1. Toast bread
2. Heat beans
3. Tip onto buttered toast (very important - the toast needs to be buttered, no marg allowed!)
4. Serve
REALLY?
Just how patronising can one man get!? Ever scornful to the classes and especially condescending towards the lower or working class, Parr would find this presumably funny (Martin it really isn't!) as for the recipe, what IS that 'butter not margarine' dig and how do you imagine this to be funny? (Marg being known as being the spread of choice for those who could not afford butter)
It summarises all that I detest about this man's work, it has unplumbed shallows! Beans on Toast a known meal of the working class, I imagine by now Parr and his kith feast on anything but. Patronising as ever whilst having their tea, kedgeree and afternoon tiffen laughing all the way to the bank.
Just how patronising can one man get!? Ever scornful to the classes and especially condescending towards the lower or working class, Parr would find this presumably funny (Martin it really isn't!) as for the recipe, what IS that 'butter not margarine' dig and how do you imagine this to be funny? (Marg being known as being the spread of choice for those who could not afford butter)
It summarises all that I detest about this man's work, it has unplumbed shallows! Beans on Toast a known meal of the working class, I imagine by now Parr and his kith feast on anything but. Patronising as ever whilst having their tea, kedgeree and afternoon tiffen laughing all the way to the bank.
#FeastForTheEyes
*the master photographer Philip Jones Griffiths objected and wrote to all fellow Magnum panellists to try to stop Parr even becoming a member!)
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