Martin Parr: Mexico

by Martin Parr (Photographer)

For much of his career, Martin Parr has specialized in skewering the eccentricities and peculiarities of his native Great Britain--in particular those having to do with food, tourism, bad fashion choices and÷ more food. Mexico is Parr's first new thematic series to be published in book form since 2002, a distinct geographical departure, and in part a greater departure as well. Parr is struck not only by Mexican culture, but also by the clear impact of America's pop culture and economy on Mexican life--the juxtaposition of Mickey Mouse with brightly colored saints, Nike logos with Day of the Dead skulls and Coca Cola with cacti. Here viewers are in recognizable territory with Parr's colorful close-ups of food, hats, signs and souvenirs, garishly shot with medical efficiency--but Mexico also includes some straight records of human faces, images that capture photographer and subject in the act of mutual contemplation. These moments of mercy are one with the underlying theme of Parr's more ironic work, calling up equally the corruption of authentic cultural forms by global consumer culture, which he both critiques and celebrates. As Parr puts it, "What I am saying is that it's a good and a bad thing. I'm constantly trying to express ambiguity. And that's what photography does very well."

Genres: Photography

88 pages, Hardcover

First published June 26, 2006

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

[Rene Schlegel · Rating 2 out of 5]

KITSCH GALORE

The silver cover with graphically unfitting fonts introduces us to Parr's portrait of Mexico: Bad taste.

Mr. Villareal, in his introduction masquerading as a letter to Parr, does it justice basically retching over the page with a pretty vile portrait of his homeland. It's not untrue, but it ain't true either. It's a textual snippet of a vast country that comes across as it would be the only thing there is to it. It's unfair. As is the rest of the book. But then, it certainly doesn't claim to be fair. Just an angle. Parr's angle.

Compositionally, Parr's photos are often rather convincing. Technically they aren't. Imagine photos taken with a one-way Kodak camera of yesteryear. That's what you will find here. Bad technology doesn't make anything art. The food photos with plastic cutlery making a pattern are interesting if seen as a series. I really like the cactus with the sign as a rare find and a testimony to an eager eye. Parr's obsession with hats is as apparent as it is obnoxious.

Few of the photos are memorable but there are some: The stillness of the lizard with the ultra-typical tourists in the blurred background, the Malboros with the outline of the Cathedral behind, the serial Jesuses, the tires in mexican colors, the yuxtaposition of raw and "ready-to-eat" chicken feet, the U.S.A. sign, the baby with cones of icecream in its crib, ... The highlight is a tourist taking a photo of a friend while waring a T-Shirt with a very similar scene. Delightfully absurd.

But overall, the book is reminiscent of an assignment given to a first-year art student. Especially the portraits are exceptionally terrible.

But then, I guess, Parr didn't make this book to please. Rather to make money instilling some unease in the viewer. And it succeeds at both quite brilliantly.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful bright and colorful photographs.