Martin Parr (born 23 May 1952), the man who the Daily Telegraph declared to be, “arguably Britain’s greatest living photographer” is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in particular documenting the social classes of England, and more broadly the wealth of the Western world.

His major projects have been rural communities (1975–1982), The Last Resort (1983–1985), The Cost of Living (1987–1989), Small World (1987–1994) and Common Sense (1995–1999). Since 1994, Martin has been a member of Magnum Photos, where he scraped in by one vote and where between 2013 and 2017 he served as President. His work has been published in numerous photobooks, over 120 of his own, and he has exhibited prolifically throughout his career.

In 2017 the Martin Parr Foundation was opened in Bristol. The MPF is as a gallery and archive and research resource dedicated to both preserving the Martin’s photographic legacy and to supporting emerging, established and overlooked photographers who have made and continue to make work focused on the British Isles.

Since his first A Small Voice appearance on Episode 91 of the podcast in October 2018, Martin has had a major exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery which opened in March 2019. Entitled Only Human, the show included portraits from around the world, with a special focus on Britishness, explored through a series of projects that investigated British identity. Also since that episode Martin was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s birthday honours in June, 2021.

Martin’s latest book, A Year in the Life of Chew Stoke Village was released in September 2022 by RRB Books.

On episode 197, Martin discusses, among other things:

Influence of his methodist grandfather… and peers at Manchester
Early experiences in Hebdon Bridge
The move to Ireland - From the Pope to a Flat White
Liverpool and the controversy around The Last Resort work
Bristol and Bath - The Cost of Living
Being blown away by his first experience of Arles
Joining Magnum amidst disapproval from the old guard
Small World
A Year in the Life of Chew Stoke Village
Signs of the Times
Common Sense
The work of the Martin Parr Foundation
Good work and bad work

Referenced:

Robert Doisneau
Bill Brandt
Robert Frank
Garry Winogrand
Alan Murgatroyd
Brian Griffin
Daniel Meadows
Albert Street Workshop
Fintan O’Toole
Peter Fraser
Peter Mitchell
Tom Wood
Anna Fox
Ken Grant
David Moore
John Hinde
Philip Jones Griffiths
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Boris Mikhailov
Krass Clement

Martin: Website | Instagram | Episode 91 | Chew Stoke book
MPF: Website | Instagram

“Most of the pictures I take are very bad, because to get the good pictures is almost impossible. If you went out in the morning and said ‘today I’m only gonna take good pictures’ you wouldn’t get anywhere. You wouldn’t even start. So you’ve got to have that momentum of shooting, and you’ve got to have found the right subject, the right place, the right time, and then things will start to happen.”

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