One Evening with Martin Parr
I am so happy to have the chance to listen to Martin's lecture. I even got a signature and a picture with him. Martin looks different from my imagination, who was supposed to be old, fat, isolated and slow, but rather, he is humorous, energetic, clear minded and good at giving speech. Nomap said his lecture is better than other guys from last year's Photo Expo, I think that might be related to the fact that Martiin has been a teacher, instructor. That even leads to a terrible idea of maybe someday I should be an instructor myself to experience the training of organizing my mind and speech.
The messages that I got from Martin's talk includes:
1. His pictures are from reality, but it is also manipulated in a way to exaggerate (enlarge) the reality.
2. He likes to photo topic or stuff that he either strongly like or strongly dislike. (I consider it a dramatic subject)
3. You need to be conscious about your project or topic. So one single picture doesn't really say much, but together you can find a coherent idea.
4. Be confident on what you are doing. (Martin may be the most controversial member in Magnum, a lot of members don't like him. But it seems he is still the one with the best photo sale record.)
I also enjoyed the surprising value of the dinner at Dallas BBQ Time Square, which was suggested by Simon, Almighty. The discussion of photography and gossip with Nomap became a good source of our dinner.
What a nice day/evening.
P.S. the book I bought is "The Photobook: A History volume II", looks like an excellent text book of Photography History.
2006 New York PhotoPlus Special Event:
AN EVENING WITH MARTIN PARR (FSE) color
Friday, November 3 * 6 PM - 7:30 PM
Magnum photographer Martin Parr is one of the most famous and successful
contemporary photographers in the world today. In a rare appearance on
this side of the Atlantic, Parr will share his distinctive vision,
show images and host an exhibition of recent work. A signed, editioned
print by Martin Parr will be given away at the end of the presentation.
You must be present to win. Sponsored by HP.
I was in a dental appointment when I saw the article below talking about Martin Parr's pick of the books that he likes. I couldn't finish copying the book names before the pretty nurse showed my way to the operation room. I lost my second wisdom tooth in no more than 6 months. Despite of the pain and humiliation, I still remember the article about Martin, and brazenly asked the girl at the reception desk to do me a favor and copy it use the machine behind her. Here is the article, which I personally typed in later on.
Never one to bore with the familiar or conventional, Parr didn't hesitate to tap these four titles for photo book history.
FACT BY SOPHIE RISTELHUEBER
(EDITIONS HAZAN, 1992)
This hard-to-find book of aerial photos documents the destruction of the landscape during the first Gulf War, "Looking down, you get these patterns of tractors and tanks, wrecked machines on the ground - no people whatsoever," Parr says. He describes the small, black-edged volume as "almost biblical, like a hymnal. It's very radical, intense, and brilliant. The first time I saw it, I knew it would be important. I bought six copies."
USEFUL PHOTOGRPHY #002 (ARTIMO, 2002)
A compilation of digital photographs showing items for sale on eBay, this is the second in a series overseen by Erik Kessels, head of a Dutch ad agency and "one of the brightest people in photography," according to Parr. "I was thinking of Evidence by Larry Sultan and Mike Mandel [the 1977 book of images from government and corporate archives], and this is the contemporary equivalent. It's vernacular photography at its best - the most bizarre, wonderful, incredible set of images of objects that you don't have any context for."
THE BANQUET BY NOBUYOSHI ARAKI
(MAGAZINE HOUSE 1993)
"This book was very influential for me. It's an example of how I can steal an idea and make it my own," Parr jokes. "Araki is an amazing bookmaker - he's done more than three hundred." At the time Araki began this project, Parr explains, "he was photographing food in color. When he learned his wife was dying, he started shooting the food she prepared for him in black and white. He deals with her death indirectly, and it's an amazing mixture of metaphor and meaning.
TEMPORARY DISCOMFORT: CHAPTER I-V
BY JULES SPINATSCH (LARS MULLER PUBLISHERS, 2005)
With its pictures of five cities - Davos, Genoa, New York, Evian and Geneva - under lockdown for global economic, summit meetings, this volume won the book award at the 2005 Rencontres d'Arles, the annual photo festival in France. "Spinatsch photographs from the fringes of big events like the G8 and focuses entirely on the security forces," Parr explains. "The printing, the design, and the ambition work very well. It possesses all the elements so many books lack: rigor, discipline, the correct production values. It's one of the most coherent and challenging books of the past decade.