Playas

by Martin Parr, Susie Parr

From Magnum: "Between 2006 and 2008 Martin Parr documented the differences in beach culture between Latin American countries whilst traveling with his wife Susie. Her text accompanies the photos in the book. The book is printed to look purposely cheap, with noticeable imperfections, somewhat like a book you'd find in a 99 cent store, complete with offset colors and gaudy clip-art style graphics."

Photographically illustrated paper-covered boards; no dust jacket as issued. Photographs by Martin Parr. Text by Susie Parr. This book was not distributed in the United States.

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

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

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a funny concept that I had to track down a copy -- instead of designing a cheap, funky looking book, Martin Parr shopped the design project out to a few places in Mexico, chose a company he liked, and let them take control over the design and production. I guess if you're not funky enough, hire someone who's funky. The photos are OK, the layout and presentation is great. If the book was $10-12 I'd recommend it, but the work is certainly nothing earth shattering, and not amongst my favorites in the Parr canon. How ironic that a book with a $7 US price on the cover was never distributed in the US, originally cost $24 plus shipping, and is now selling for upwards of $45.