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| New Brighton, England, 1983–85 From The Last Resort © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos |
The news of the death of Martin Parr brought back some of my memories of photography discussions had a college and university back in the 1990s. No other photographer seemed to polarise a group of student photographers more than Martin Parr. As the years have gone by it seems that controversial aspect of his work has remained part of his photography's story, even though my own thoughts about Parr's work, especially The Last Resort, have mellowed.
No photographer has, probably, captured an era as well as Parr. The Last Resort images have the style and feel that shout out the eighties. Bold, colourful, stark and uncompassionate, Parr's images perfectly captured the best and worst of the eighties, but have been misunderstood as politically sympathetic to the Thatcher politics of the time. There was, and still is, an element of discomfort when viewing his images with questions continuing to persist about how he regarded his subject matter. The Last Resort, and the controversy around it, did Parr's career little harm and significantly boosted awareness of his photography to a wider audience.
I first came across Martin Parr's name whilst reading a review of The Last Resort book in a photography magazine around the mid 1980s. The other photographer whose book was being reviewed was Chris Killip 'In Flagrante'. Two very different books, from two very different photographers, but both contained work taking a long look at what was happening in the north of England in the 1980s. By the time i arrived in photography education in the early 1990s, Martin Parr was a byword for contemporary colour documentary photography.
My opinion of Parr's work has always been 'on the move'. It's never been as straightforward as viewing other photographers work. Maybe that was part of Parr's appeal. I've always admired some of his photography, mostly his black and white work from the 1970s, but certain colour images, especially those in The Last Resort and The Cost of Living, well I've always had some reservations. I would have loved for Martin to have been a guest lecturer at my college, and to hear the discussion afterwards.
Martin Parr was certainly one the most influential British photographer of the past forty years, but I suspect he may also go down as one of the most misunderstood.
Martin Parr was certainly one the most influential British photographer of the past forty years, but I suspect he may also go down as one of the most misunderstood.
