Martin Parr. Le Mélange des genres: Entretien avec Quentin Bajac

by Martin Parr, Unknown Author

160 pages, Paperback

Published January 14, 2026

About the author

Martin Parr was born in Epsom, Surrey, UK in 1952. When he was a boy, his budding interest in the medium of photography was encouraged by his grandfather George Parr, himself a keen amateur photographer.

Parr studied photography at Manchester Polytechnic, from 1970-1973. Since that time, Martin Parr has worked on numerous photographic projects. He has developed an international reputation for his innovative imagery, his oblique approach to social documentary, and his input to photographic culture within the UK and abroad.

In 1994 he became a full member of Magnum Photographic Corporation. In recent years, he has developed an interest in filmmaking, and has started to use his photography within different conventions, such as fashion and advertising.

In 2002 the Barbican Art Gallery and the National Media Museum initiated a large retrospective of Parr's work. This show toured Europe for the next 5 years.

Parr was appointed Professor of Photography in 2004 at The University of Wales Newport campus. He was Guest Artistic Director for Rencontres D'Arles in 2004. In 2006 he was awarded the Erich Salomon Prize and the resulting Assorted Cocktail show opened at Photokina. In 2008 he was guest curator at the New York Photo Festival, curating the New Typologies exhibition. At PhotoEspana, 2008, he won the Baume et Mercier award in recognition of his professional career and contributions to contemporary photography.

Reviews

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What a nice book about Martin Parr and his work.

The only slight drawback is the absence of his more recent work. The book focuses much more on his earlier projects. For example, he only briefly mentions his retrospective at the Jeu de Paume, which was a bit disappointing, and there isn't a single photograph from his fashion work.

I loved discovering the Ancienne Confrérie des maris dominés par leurs épouses in Yorkshire (page 30).

I was also surprised to learn that he is more famous in France than in the UK (page 39), and that the Bibliothèque nationale holds a large collection of his black-and-white photographs (page 41). I assume they're referring to the BnF?

It was also interesting to learn that he was given more pages for a fashion editorial than for a traditional photo feature.

I also enjoyed reading about his admission to the Magnum agency (pages 101ff), where he was elected by the narrowest possible margin 66.6% of the votes (page 104)—and how Philip Jones Griffiths never forgave him for it (page 105).

I also loved Henri Cartier-Bresson's little jab, saying that Martin Parr came "from another galaxy" (page 105).

It was interesting to learn that digital prints are more durable than chromogenic prints (page 140).

Honestly, I've never used Flickr to find photographs (pages 142–143).

I also didn't know that he was the artistic director of the Rencontres d'Arles in 2004 (page 147).

According to Martin Parr, the most interesting photographers of the new generation are coming from the Netherlands and Germany (pages 152–153).

Some quotes:
- Page 13 : "de l'évolution du regard qu'il porte sur son oeuvre ; de l'état délabré du monde."
- Page 29 : "Je pense que les photographes aiment la nostalgie et je ne faisais pas exception à la règle."
- Page 37 : "Certains avaient affirmé que le travail, parce qu'il était en couleur, ne pouvait pas vraiment prétendre au sérieux."
- Page 73 : "J'adore photographier le tourisme, parce que c'est une des plus grosses industries au monde, à laquelle personne ne peut échapper."
- Page 92 : "L'album de famille est au fond un tissu de mensonges : les gens ne photographient les bébés qu'heureux et riant alors que les bébés pleurent souvent. (...) Vous ne verrez jamais une photographie d'enterrement dans un album de famille."
- Page 93 : "J'ai l'impression que si elle n'est ni bonne ni mauvaise, votre vision du monde a tout de même évolué depuis vingt ans, d'une certaine nostalgie à l'ironie, puis à davantage de pessimisme."
- Page 95 : "Cet enlaidissement du monde se traduit aussi par l'invasion d'une esthétique kitsch qui a beaucoup retenu votre attention, ce que l'on vous a parfois reproché, vous accusant de complaisance."
- Page 115 : "La guerre demeure l'un des rares sujets qui survivent au déclin du photojournalisme."
- Page 116 : "Pas de la richesse en soi, mais du fait que nous devenons trop riches, ce qui est un des problèmes du monde contemporain."
- Page 120-121 : "Aucun gouvernement ne va dire aux gens : "Vous devriez réduire vos dépenses, réduire vos activités, réduire vos mouvements", c'est impossible tant que nous ne sommes pas arrivés au point critique."
- Page 121 : "C'est pourquoi toute réflexion un tant soit peu sérieuse sur l'état du monde contemporain ne peut être que déprimante."
- Page 128 : "Je suis sûr que vous et moi avons une idée assez précise de qui, épaulé par les bonnes galeries, pourrait aujourd'hui être reconnu par le monde de l'art contemporain. Il y a une juste adéquation à trouver et certaines personnes réussissent dans le milieu de l'art contemporain, d'autres non."
- Page 153 : "Au départ de toute collection, il y a juste la passion et puis, avec le recul du temps, vous vous rendez compte que vous avez réussi un ensemble unique."


Bonsoir.