Matthew Stevens
Martin Parr
Martin Parr was born in the United Kingdom in 1952. Parr has been creating pictures all his life, but his education in photography did not begin until 1970. He studied photography at the Manchester Polytechnic until 1973.
Parr’s photographs are often described a satiric, intimate, and anthropological (relating to the study of mankind). One series of photographs by Parr that personifies these characteristics is called Signs of the Times: A Portrait of the Nation’s Tastes. In this collection, he went inside regular people’s homes and took pictures of them and their things. Underneath each photo he put a phrase they spoke during his interactions with them.
“But in the 1960s this was really tiptop fashion”
“I don’t think it’s anything particularly forced on Deborah. We’ve just always enjoyed the Sam sort of things.
From ‘Signs of the Times’, 1992
I like both of the previous pictures but have an easier time analyzing the second so I will attempt to explain how I see that one.
The second photo, much like the first, has a slightly odd way about it. It can be inferred that the woman on the left is the mother of the girl on the right by the quote. They are clearly dressed similarly in red dresses to match the room. The quote underneath is hinting at the fact that they like the same things, which can easily be seen in the photograph. Some of the smaller details include the books on the left side and the details on the mother’s dress. Whether
Parr intended for it or not, I believe the books are symbolic of the age and knowledge accumulated by the mother over the years. Her more detailed dress shows a higher sophistication than the simple dress of her daughter. In addition, the two identical chairs are slightly different in the amount of wear they have. The chair on the mother’s side has more wear than the one of the daughter’s, once again personifying the mothers older age. The white shoes of the daughter represent a kind of innocence not present in the mother and her black shoes, and the open window on the daughter’s side reminds me of the open-mindedness present earlier in life before routines and complex beliefs have been established.
Parr intended for it or not, I believe the books are symbolic of the age and knowledge accumulated by the mother over the years. Her more detailed dress shows a higher sophistication than the simple dress of her daughter. In addition, the two identical chairs are slightly different in the amount of wear they have. The chair on the mother’s side has more wear than the one of the daughter’s, once again personifying the mothers older age. The white shoes of the daughter represent a kind of innocence not present in the mother and her black shoes, and the open window on the daughter’s side reminds me of the open-mindedness present earlier in life before routines and complex beliefs have been established.
It would be interesting if Parr intended for all these symbols to be present in the photograph. They seem obvious to me and unlikely that they happened to be there by chance.
Another of my other favorites:
Gateway
Supermarket, Nailsea, Somerset, 1990
Works
Cited
“CV.” Martin Parr,
www.martinparr.com/cv/.
“Martin Parr.” Brassaï
Facts & Biography, famous-photographers.com/martin-parr/.
Parr, Martin.
Parr, Martin. Gateway
Supermarket. 1990.
Parr, Martin. “Magnum
Photos.” Magnum Photos,
pro.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=29YL53GUDGH.
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