Visual Art '
‘Bristol’, from Think of England
hotography in the grand. noble tradition of practitioners such as Frenchman Henri (‘artier-Bresson and American Robert l‘rank sought to represent a common humanity that bonded people across country. class and age. Seeing an exhibition of their work is a life- affir'ming experience. Their black and white prints unify the yaried subject matter. The very linglish .Martin Parr. on the other hand. shoots in full. saturated colour and uses his lens to frame the oddities. choices. habits and quirks particular to certain groups of predominantly British folk. We are obsessed with class always have been and maybe always will be. The recent fixation on 'neds‘ and ‘chay's' as figures of fun. derision. mockery and in some cases hate. highlights this celebrated preoccupation. A state of insecurity.
recent social mobility and a late on-surge of
'strphislicztlititf may have something to do with such complacent snobbery. What Parr does with far more subtlety and talent is point ottt the weirdness of ey'eryone‘s behaviour. Let‘s have a laugh we. the British. are a very funny bunch. ‘full of contradictions and quirks‘. as Parr says -— but [htth ey‘eryone. The middle-class women clutching rolls of Laura Ashley fabrics with
82 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE l 'r 18 Aug Qtitif,
He made a name for himself with his photographs exposing Britain’s Class system and its peoadillos. Now MARTIN PARR has made a film with the comedian John Shuttleworth which asks whether people are nicer up north. Ruth Hedges presses him for an answer.
almost desperation. the wind blowing the hair of
young socialitcs out for a day at Badminton Trials and a cosy. but strained National (‘hildbirth Trust coffee morning are all y'alid subjects. Parr captures the institutions and day— to-day habits that the great inhabitants of (heat Britain enjoy and cling to.
Martin l’arr describes hirrrself as 'ridiculously middle-class‘. He was born and brought up in Surrey and it was his grandfather who introduced him to the camera. They went out photographing in Yorkshire on a school holiday yisit. He knew from that moment that it was all
he wanted to do in life. Visiting a couple of
polytechnics to see where he might study aged l8. Parr was delighted by the tutors who smoked in the darkrooms. The thought that you might be able to actually do this fora Iiy'ing was thrilling. He chose Manchester Poly and after graduating set tip with a group of fellow photographers and artists in llebdon Bridge. the Yorkshire mill town. Being based here. Parr had access to the north lingland of Morecarnbe. Salford and Halifax of barber shops. Butlins. the seaside and football. At this time in the 70s Parr was working in black and white. These photographs
are Very different from the high—colour images people are most familiar with. In one. two children bounce on a trarrrpoline that sits on a cold. windswept Morecambe bay; their munr and dad wait round the edges. tatty l'nion .lack flags are flying and a sign propped rip reads: ‘(‘hi|drens 'l’rampolines. 2()p for 5 mins. Shoes off please.‘ The scene is framed sad. ftrnrry and tinged with bleakness. It tells its own story. In another from this time. seyen men stand in a row at Halifax Town football ground. l‘)77. Again. the weather is grim. They line tip in front of a metal fence with two barren tower blocks in the distance the image is a perfect corrrposition all lines and geometry.
As the decade rolled on. l’arr switched to colour and took to it like a drag artist with his first make- up kit. lly'per. glorious. rich colour soaks into his prints which depict scenes arranged into projects such as ‘l‘rom A to B’. ‘(‘ost of l.i\'ing'. ‘The Last Resort. and ‘Bor‘ed (‘Ulllilcsi The seaside is again a particularly resonant source of imagery. 'lt‘s Britain frayed at the edges and a less modern Britain at its most eccentric] he says. l’eculiarity is a particular fetish of Parts it and irrrmortalises it.
he sees it. isolates