Portrait session with Martin Parr at the Parr Foundation - What to expect....

@606 Did I suggest it wasn't secure? He has done masses for photography and specifically British photography. His legacy is as it should be secure.

Acts like this for the benefit of a charity are also great.

That doesn't mean I don't have criticisms of how I feel he has positioned himself and indeed how others have placed him. His book collection you mention being a another example.

That off the top of my head are better Eric Kim, Boogie or Daniel Arnold. I feel that martin parrs work is glorified family snapshots.

I can't see any link between any of those and Martin Parr, they are doing quite different things. And I am not sure that he would take 'glorified family snapshots' as the damning insult you mean it to be. Though I'd agree, at his worst, it does nowadays look like he is trading on his name.

Yeah he would probably agree thats a compliment. His recent oxford work I seen was fuckin awful but maybe I just dont get the "art".

Parr seems to have lost whatever mojo he once had imho. I saw a series he had shot in Hameln at an army base, and they looked like something taken by my 10 year old self with my old Konica Pop. All flat.

Can't look at Dougie Wallace without thinking he's just plagiarising Bruce Gilden.

Sure your family portraits will turn out well though.

Most artists lose it as they get older but previous commercial and critical success allows them to keep going cf. Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Philip Roth, Woody Allen etc etc. Parr had genius, I think.

Anyways, it's a great gift OP. I'd just turn up and enjoy it.

Why is it that anyone who now uses a flash in street photography is instantly seen as copying another huge photographer from another era?

OF COURSE dougie is influenced by the likes of Parr, Gilden and other pioneers of street photography. But to say its plaigirism is ridiculous.
He's certainly not got the in your face, cocky, dosmissive attitude that you see from Gilden.

Dougies work is instantly recogniseable as his own imho, its not all to my personal taste, his earlier Road Wallah series however is incredible.

I think the portrait session sounds good, and it'll certainly be interesting to own a martin parr photo of yourself, its exactly what he does best, showing ~normal~ people doing ~normal~ things. Infact "glorified family snapshots" is a fucking great descripton of what you're likely to receive but thats the fun of it.

However I have met him and found that he was somewhat awkward/rude to a lot of people asking questions at the talk, but is uppose in his defense it must get annoying to talk about the same shit over and over while signing notebooks.

Have fun OP cant wait for the open of that place! Will certainly be making the trip down there!

Whilst were talking great british street photographers everyone should take a look at Niall McDiarmid's work.

(Also someone who parr has met and I beleive bought work from)

Parr seems to have lost whatever mojo he once had imho

Pretty much. Was looking forward to his Black Country Stories as it's not often you get someone documenting the Midlands. The end result was pretty dull sadly*

*Much like the Midlands, so perhaps he did a good job shrugs

i'll pass on the advice my mum used to give me before my school photo's

make sure you comb your hair before you go in

Eric Kim

Not sure if serious ...

glorified snapshots

I’m pretty sure that was the criticism offered at the start of Parr’s career. What does it mean? The same could be said of Daniel Arnold but why would you?

Have fun!

A small aside, My uncle has worked with Parr a few times as he's a curator. He told about calling up about something only for Martin to say:
"Roger, I'll call you back in a bit I'm in the middle of a pot noodle..."

Wonder if he collects pot noodles as well..

That tells you everything you need to know.

The food of a charlatan. *

*Unless it was the chicken curry

Parr came to our college/uni to do a talk, something that he supposedly hates doing but I think one of the other students cheekily emailed him and asked him to come and he was just like "Aye, fuck it, why not". He then later donated a framed print for an auction we did to raise funds for our degree show.

The uni was University of the West of Scotland which is like the Primark Pot Noodle of unis so was pretty surprised he wasn't snobbish about it.

All that said, I can't imagine straight forward studio portraiture being his 'bag' but maybe I'm missing the point or perhaps he has more sides than I am aware of.

Eric Kim

Did lol

All that said, I can't imagine straight forward studio portraiture being his 'bag' but maybe I'm missing the point or perhaps he has more sides than I am aware of.

At his retrospective at the Barbican in about 2002/3 he'd done some fairly conventional studio self-portraiture. It was a pastiche of classic 80's/90's studio stuff. IMHO he was asking people to judge him like he supposedly judged his subjects, or presenting himself in the way his critics assumed he was - middle class and snobbish.

@lardy_biker so have you had it yet? What was it like if you have?

Martin Parr for Gucci

Crispy fried!