I could only keep half of my promise, I celebrated Thanksgiving and didn’t get to Vision on time to see Martin Parr.  I only have Eugene Richards talk recorded for those who are interested.  Richards basically recapped his entire career and motivation for being a photographer, totally engaging and if you boost the audio it’s worth listening too.

Sorry for the quality of the images, they were taken on an iPhone and are here just to give you an idea of the environment.

Vision itself was really busy and I know the organisers underestimated demand, there were too many attendees compared to last year.  Neither Simon Norfolk or Simon Roberts managed to fill their respective seminar rooms.  But last year there were 4 major talks from photographers.  This year there were only two which can help to explain the overcrowding.

When I went to Berlin 2 years, I attended a Martin Parr exhibition, dragging my friends half way across town to educate them of this genuine genius. These photo’s scream honesty. It just goes to show you don’t have to have the strongest technique, just a nice composition and a suggested idea.

Don’t miss the Martin Parr exhibitions at the Baltic Gateshead – on until Jan 17th 2010

source – artnews

I have visited the Martin Parr exhibitions at the Baltic, Gateshead twice – and am still trying to work out what the feeling is that his work gives me.

The new exhibition is called Luxury – and includes the above shot and a whole range of others of the rich indulging in different parts of the world.  Could he (should he) also re-present the noveau-poor and make it as hard-hitting as Bill Brandt’s views of the upper and lower classes?  Or is his gently-satirical and affectionate voice too accepting of the foibles of all classes?

The Parrworld exhibition is just plain interesting – on many counts.  His collections enrich the way we receive his work – we get  better idea about the mind that selects this shot, and that and that.

The collection of his photo-books (on which he is an expert and has published) is a fine display.  The one that got me most was the beautiful inscription from Cartier-Bresson.  It was also great to see prints from world masters and from fine North-East photographers.

But I don’t think you can really get into the man, or let him into your sensibility without including his films Martin Parr’s Moving Pictures especially Part One: Modern Times – Think of England.  Modern Times – think of England shows his sympathy and a kind, gentle inquiry voice as the camera records the food,and holidays, and recreation of (mainly) the English.  It’s not a pretty picture – it is not pastoral or elegiac, or sanitized. The racism is there along with the disgusting food.  But above all there is bemusement and acceptance – and not, as with Louis Theroux, with a sense of superiority.  I don’t suppose for one moment that Parr shares the values embedded in most of what he photographs or films but Parr is accepting of the diversity of people – and he enables us to look without our habitual judgementalism – or at least provides a space in which to look before we make judgement.  The photographs are a re-arrangement of elements that hold back judgment.

Perhaps Parr’s work is primarily for the English/British – the pictures and films are certainly not flattering.  Like the weather that keeps imposing itself a certain cussedness and a tinge of stupidity are in the mix.  I can’t believe that the work on file is a first choice for the UK Tourist Boards.  An interesting comparison is to be made to compare the images and film put out by the Tourist Boards and the work of Parr – or of Calum Colvin.

I am starting to focus the feeling – and some of its main elements are;

A satire that is more kind than vicious – though it is unflinching about the mores of his subjects.

For me – a fellow-Englander and a fellow Brit seeking unblinkingly the Englishness of the English (and the Britishness of the British?  Perhaps he or someone else should pay comparable attention to the other parts of the UK.  See for example the work of Calum Colvin, starting with the ‘Ossian’.)

A document-provider and celebrator of ‘low’ culture.

A celebrator of foibles – gentle and satirical.

Photographs that seem like snap-shots writ large.

Photographs that make us look and see – before we judge and ‘en-box’.

His work is historical, but largely nostalgia-free.

Martin Parr holds up a pretty straight mirror – and he frames in a largely kind and accepting way.

Magnum photographer Christopher Anderson gave a talk at the Host Gallery last night (so was Martin Parr but as a member of the audience).  Anderson (who was suffering from Jet lag) discussed his early career, including some choice moments from his first major assignment regarding Hatian immigrants, both which were quite funny and scary.  Strangely though, I felt he wanted to sidestep his reason for being at Host; after showing some stills of Capitolio, he was quite willing to move onto his latest project until a member of the audience slowed him down with some informed questioning and continued pushing him with questions afterwards.  Its all in this audio recording I made which can be found here.

Please note there is a long pause during the recording where Christopher Anderson is showing Capitolio on screen, this might be a good opportunity to get your own copy of the book out and look at the images as a reference when the Q&A begins shortly after.

I will also be at this years Vision Conference where Martin Parr and Eugene Richards will be talking, expect 2 more audio recordings later this week.

'Betty at Port Glasgow Town Hall Xmas Party', © Mark Neville, 2005, taken from The Port Glasgow Book Project

A quick audio file today from an interview I did with artist Mark Neville ahead of the recent talk he gave at the Whitechapel Gallery on 12 November for photomonth.

Framing the Pixel – November 5th 2009

This is a 30-minute live phone interview with Mark. It was originally recorded for Framing The Pixel (FTP) on 4:00-4:30pm on Resonance radio 101.4FM. Roll over the link above.

Ancient Order of the Hibernian Social Club ( Donna), © Mark Neville, 2005

Some of the work from Neville’s Port Glasgow Book Project can be seen in ParrWorld – inside Martin Parr’s photo collection at Baltic Mill till 17 January 2010. The show features two large prints from The Port Glasgow Book Project, along with a copy of the book itself. It also features photographs and books by Paul Graham, Chris Killip, Richard Billingham, Keith Arnatt, Graham Smith, Tom Wood, Karen Knorr, Paul Seawright, Jem Southam and Ian Macdonald, and recent works from Martin Parr.

Two new exhibitions installed at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art this October are Damien Hirst’s Pharmacy (in conjunction with Tate Connects) and the only UK showing of Parrworld by photographer Martin Parr, an exhibition of photographs, photographic books and a range of objects from Parr’s personal collection.
It was fun looking at and documenting the work, and meeting Martin himself..

REPORTAJE

Martin Parr abre su escaparate de lujo obsceno

Después de cuatro años de trabajo el fotógrafo británico muestra ‘Luxury’

ELSA FERNÁNDEZ-SANTOS – Madrid – 10/11/2009

Para unos es un genio que ha logrado documentar las mil caras de nuestro tiempo, mientras que para otros sólo es un hábil retratista del lado más grasiento y grotesco de la sociedad actual. En cualquier caso, Martin Parr (Bristol, 1952) es un fotógrafo que no deja indiferente y mucho menos en su país, Reino Unido, donde en el último mes se han inaugurado dos exposiciones en torno a su obra y donde la crítica sigue dividida entre si lo suyo es genialidad documental o vulgar brocha gorda.

Mientras Parrworld (inaugurada en el Gateshead Baltic Center of Contemporary Art) reúne su último proyecto, Luxury, en el que el fotógrafo ha invertido cuatro años de trabajo enfocando los chirriantes detalles de los rincones más opulentos del planeta, Parrbooks (que se inaugura esta semana en la Rocket Gallery de Londres) está dedicada a sus libros, que conforman una extensa bibliografía que arranca de 1974 para cerrase este año con la citada Luxury.

“Todo el mundo fotografía a los pobres, así que yo decidí que quería fotografiar a los ricos”, señala Parr en una conversación telefónica. “Es algo que inspira poca confianza. Está claro que fotografiar una guerra da más prestigio, no hay discusión, pero seguir el rastro de la clase media o, ahora, de los nuevos ricos no despierta demasiado interés”.

Desde una presentación de joyas en Dubai en la que todo es de un color rosa chicle o las aceleradas bambalinas de un desfile de moda en Moscú, Parr ha pasado de las playas con olor a aceite de coco del turismo de masas a los salones del consumo más caro y aberrante. Miembro de Magnum desde 1994, el fotógrafo dispara cuando se le pregunta por una lectura ideológica de ese zoológico de colores ácidos. “Yo no juzgo con mi cámara, no busco lo que está bien y lo que está mal, eso es algo que dejo al espectador”, afirma.

Según Parr, la crisis económica ha barrido del mapa ese escaparate de lujo obsceno convirtiendo su serie en el epitafio de una era. Normalmente, Parr busca la ficción en la realidad pero esta vez los patéticos rostros operados de Luxury parecen hiperrealismo. “Es un mundo que me inspiraba curiosidad y por eso acudí durante cuatro años a todas las fiestas y presentaciones que pude. No fue tan difícil, siempre conoces a alguien que conoce a alguien que puede colarte. Me resultaba muy fascinante y no me sentía incómodo, mi cámara siempre me protege del mundo exterior. Entonces yo no contaba con lo que pasaría luego y con la lectura que la serie tomaría después de la crisis económica. Es un mundo que se ha esfumado, no ha desaparecido el dinero ni, evidentemente, los ricos, pero sí ha desaparecido esa exhibición del dinero que campaba a sus anchas”.

Para Parr, la fotografía todavía es en Reino Unido un arte considerado menor. “Desde luego no es el caso de España o Francia, aunque poco a poco la cosa va cambiando. La fotografía es un arte muy flexible y democrático, cada uno puede inventarse a sí mismo, eso es precisamente lo que más me gusta de ella, aunque quizá eso es lo que despierta más sospechas contra ella”.

image credit: Rana El Nemr (Egypt) Olympic Garden 17, 2008 (40×50 cm). Panafrican exhibition – Bamako 2009
© Rana El Nemr (CC: attribution-noncommercial-no derivatives license)

The 8th African Photography Biennial in Bamako, Mali, starts on 7th November to 7th December 2009. I am particularly drawn to it as it uses one of my growing passions, photography, to explore a theme that is close to my heart: Borders.

“Perceived as territories of demarcation, enclosure or transit, they can just as well be places for transformation and exchange, territories – whether real or imaginary – of opening, opportunity or expansion.”

Borders inarguably implies immigration/immigrants and this is the basis of Gambian-born Fatou Cham’s story, Black Beauty or Illegal Immigrant,  which will be the foundation for a discussion at Bamako Encounters.

This year, the African Photography Biennial explores the theme of “Borders”, artificial or natural, and will comprise of a panafrican exhibition of recent photography and video work by established artists, from Kader Attia, Majida Khattari, Zineb Sedira and Barthelemy Toguo, to emerging talents like Mohamed Bourrouissa, Mohamed Camara, Andrew Esiebo and Baudouin Mouanda.

The international exhibition, presented at the Musee National du Mali and featuring more than 50 artists will be completed by 5 solo shows by Angèle Etoundi Essamba (Cameroon), Hassan Hajjaj (Morocco), Patrizia Guerresi Maïmouna (Italy), Baudouin Mouanda (Congo)
 and Fazal Sheikh (USA).
Theme exhibitions will include, among others, the participation of Michael Stevenson Gallery with Nandipha Mntambo and Pieter Hugo and the showcase of “Luxury” by British artist Martin Parr, as part of a partnership between the Bamako Encounters and the Rencontres d’Arles, the famous French photography festival.

[...]

In total, more than 100 artists, 15 venues and a host of debates, workshops, portfolio reviews, photo studios and live events that promise, once more, to make the Malian capital the highlight of African photography.

[Source: Creative Africa Network]

Update: Just came across this wonderful blog, Invisible Borders Lagos-Bamako Road Trip Project 2009 (hat tip @emeka_okafor of Timbuktu Chronicles) that chronicles the journey made by 10 Nigerian photographers and writers.

This project arose as a result of an urgent need to address the notion of dividing borders between countries in the African continent … [T]his project is an attempt to acquire a much realistic sense of the similarities and difference between peoples suggested by cultural and geographical lines.

The project has been termed “Invisible Borders”: a reference to the non-geographical demarcation, but rather that which could be easily missed especially if looking at the lines in the map, or flying over by air.

The most essential aspect of the project is not the final destination, but the journey; therefore the participating photographers will produce works in form of photography and video while on the go which will be exhibited during the main events of the Festival in Bamako.

Participants include:

Uche James Iroha, Lucy Azubuike, Emeka Okereke, Amaize Ojiekere, Uche Okpa Iroha, Ray Daniels Okeugo, Unoma Geise, Chris Nwobu, Nike Ojeikere, Charles Okereke.

 

 

Borders Involved:

Nigeria/Benin (Seme), Benin/Togo (Grand Popo), Togo/Ghana (Aflao), Ghana /Burkina fasso (Paga), Burkina Fasso/ Mali.

Il y a un an : le 4 novembre 08, Barack Obama était élu président des Etats Unis.  Mais sa prise de fonction à la maison blanche a eu lieu le 20 janvier dernier. Donc officiellement il est au pouvoir depuis 9 mois seulement !

Rappelons-nous, la candidature puis l’élection d’Obama a entraîné une vague enthousiasme et d’euphorie aux Etats Unis mais aussi dans le monde. Beaucoup de personnes ont célébré sa victoire et par conséquent le retour des démocrates au pouvoir. Son élection a été une victoire sur beaucoup de terrains.

Pour fêter cette première année je vous laisse découvrir des photos de l’exposition qui s’est déroulé au jeu de Paume : Planète Parr (la collection de Martin Parr). Dans cette expo j’ai découvert sa collection d’objets dédiée à l’Obamamania.

collection Martin Parr

Collection Martin Parr

SHOOTING MAGPIES

This weekend was my first proper visit to Newcastle. Despite thinking Our Friends In The North is the greatest TV show ever and being slightly fascinated by the madness of T Dan Smith (documented here by Brutalist architect laureate Owen Hatherley) I’ve never quite managed to spend a day there.

What a fabulous city. It’s everything Leeds should be but never could be. By that I mean loads of glorious buildings, a cultural vision and the splendour of The Tyne Bridges. I walked over the millenium bridge and watched the sun set over The Sage. The onto Baltic where Martin Parr took over 2 floors with his archives and photography. Martin Parr used to live in Hebden Bridge and set up the Albert Street Studios. He had collected silk screen posters of the Miner’s Strike (with the brilliant Victory for The Miners – Victory for The Working Class splayed on a hundred foot high banner draped from The Baltic Mill), American Army Sadam Hussein rat watches, Osama Bin Laden breakfast cereal and my personal favourite Maggie Thatcher and William Hague teapots. They were displayed in glass cabinets. Plus lots of documentary photographs of northern sink estates and Richard Billingham. Cracking stuff.

Over the river SIDE gallery was showing a photography exhibition called Byker by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen. Some mind blowing shots in there, too. One in particular, of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier biting a bubble was one of the best moments on film I’ve seen captured in a long time. Sirkka’s composition is really quite astonishing. I know she is influenced by Renaissance images and you can really feel this in her recent work.

SIDE Gallery is run by the Amber Collective. This was something of a pilgrimage as I’ve been enchanted by Amber’s films since More 4 screened a late night Murray Martin tribute. I watched Seacoal, Eden Valley and the Tyne Documentaries and loads more with Brian Hogg who sadly passed away last month. Murray Martin was instrumental in the regeneration of Newcastle’s Quayside and pretty much saved it from demolition during the 80s. I’d like to think that Murray not only saved an important part of Newcastle’s heritage but also documented the social changes in Newcastle since the 1960s on film. They have a new TV channel showing some of these films which are well worth checking out if you are interested…

Image by Sirkka Liisa Konttinens

Parrworld: Martin Parr at Baltic

Friday, October 16, 2009

Parrworld Is A Hit – Martin Parr at BALTIC

Last night, we headed up to BALTIC in Gateashead for the opening of Parrworld, and I was not disappointed. I left the show feeling inspired to get my camera out, and start taking pictures, while at the same time, I started thinking about the notion of collecting, a cultural consciousness, memories and our constantly changing times.
More from Aesthetica Magazine Blog

Só há um jeito de começar um post sobre Marin Parr n’Os Estrangeiros: citando uma frase dita pelo figura a um jornalista que questionou o estranhamento gerado por sua entrada como membro da agência Magnum. Pois vai lá: “os fotógrafos da Magnum eram criados para sair como um guerreiro das Cruzadas… para lugares carentes, em guerra… e eu saí e fiquei em volta do quarteirão porque, para mim, esta é a linha de frente.”

E é isso que os olhos de Parr conseguem captar, e é isso que nos deixa de quatro em frente ao seu trabalho, com todos os sentidos confusos. Alegria? Vergonha? Fome? Nojo? Alívio? Dor? Um fotógrafo crítico, em uma tentativa de desmerecer o trabalho de Parr, uma vez afirmou que suas fotos “não faziam sentido”. Ora, essa é exatamente o maior elogio que um artista de verdade pode receber. Olé!

Mas é isso, as fotos sempre falam por si. E com Martin Parr não é diferente. Não se deixe levar pelo cinismo aparente ou pelo riso, são apenas duas das muitas faces de cada imagem de Parr. Por trás dos flashes estouradaços, das cores saturadas e da fidelidade ao filme analógico, está o gênio criticado por ser um fotógrafo-de-uma-pauta-só: o homem que clica a vida bovina da sociedade ocidental. Precisa mais do que isso?

Fotos: Martin Parr

Texto: Ale Lucchese

RENAISSANCE PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE 2010
“The Renaissance Photography Competition raises cash for a great charity. It gives the chance for any photographer to enter and to put their work under the gaze of the assembled luminaries who judge the work”.
Magnum photographer Martin Parr and Renaissance judge 2009

How could I fail to be interested in a photography competition which supports The Lavender Trust at Breast Cancer Care, a charity which helps younger women affected by breast cancer?

My mother was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer before Christmas last year, and my godmother’s daughter Lou Gish died on 20 February 2006, aged 38, as a  result of breast cancer. It seems entirely fitting that I should want to support such a cause. I met the founder Fiona Gifford on Saturday at photomonth, as the Hotshoe stall was sandwiched between hers and the press desk. The book of finalists’ work from last year was on sale and, flicking through the images, I was pleasantly surprised; open competitions can result in wildly varying standards of work, but the photos making the final cut in this competition are of a genuinely high standard. Also, if you ever wonder where your competition entry money goes to (and who doesn’t? especially considering that some competitions also get sponsors to provide the prizes for free, such as photo equipment), then wonder no longer: all proceeds go to The Lavender Trust.

The open photo competition launched yesterday and the deadline for entries is not until 10 January, so you have three months to enter. In fact, I may even give it a whirl.

First Prize 2009 - Emotions category: © Peter Puklus, (Hungary), Melinda after hair washing, Paris 2005

The Renaissance Photography Prize – now in its third year – invites amateur and professional photographers “to have their photographs judged by some of the most acclaimed photographers in the industry. All proceeds from the competition go to The Lavender Trust.

“It is an international competition after two years. I’m staggered.”
Eamonn McCabe, former Guardian picture editor and four times Sports Photographer of the Year

“Renowned gallery owner Michael Hoppen, former Guardian picture editor Eamonn McCabe, landscape expert Charlie Waite and Magnum Magnum editor Brigitte Lardinois will judge the Renaissance Photography Prize. They will award over £5,000 in prizes to the winners in this year’s categories: (Landscapes, People, Movement, Reflections) and the overall Renaissance prize. These images, plus 75 shortlisted images, will be displayed at a two- day exhibition in central London and at a celebrity Private View at the exclusive Hospital Private Members Club in Covent Garden. They will also appear in a hardback book of the event”.

The competition is the brainchild of Fiona Gifford, a 36 year-old lawyer and keen amateur photographer who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006:

“I have been overwhelmed by the success of Renaissance and the quality of the photographs that we have seen since the competition started. The competition is a great way for photographers to have their work judged by some of the best names in the photography world while raising money for younger women with breast cancer. What better way to celebrate life and the world around us than through photography? Photographs allow us capture and connect with the world, and can be a source of inspiration during times of adversity”.

DEADLINE
10 January 2010

WHAT TO DO
Read the Terms and Conditions. The website says: “You keep copyright of all your work, and get a nice warm glow from knowing your entry fee will be used to support younger people with breast cancer,”

There are four catergories for photographs: Landscapes; People; Movement; Reflections. You can enter as many categories as you like, and you can enter as many images as you like.

All entries should be in JPG format 800 pixels, maximum, on the longest side, and not more than 300 KB in file size.

Sign up to the site and upload your photographs.

COST
£15 for a one photo or £25 for up to four photos. The entry fee goes to The Lavender Trust to support younger people with breast cancer.

PRIZE
“The overall winner of the competition receives £3,000. The winner in each category will receive the category prize of £500. Winners and highly-commended entries will receive a free double ticket to the Celebrity Private View. For 80 finalists, there is an additional benefit of getting real exposure with an exhibition in a leading London gallery where your work will be sold. You’ll even get a share of the proceeds.”

Martin Parr nasceu em 1952 em Bristol. O fotógrafo é membro da cooperativa de fotografia Magnum Photos desde 1994.

O Jeu de Paume em Paris exibiu sua trajetória, e expôs um de seus trabalhos mais conhecidos em seu jardim. As fotos abaixo mostram algumas de suas fotos que registram o turismo de massa com uma certa ironia e uma estética realmente britânicas.  Até nossa praia de Copacabana está registrada.

O mais interessante é ver todas essas fotos expostas em contraste com a paisagem da cidade que mais recebe turistas no mundo. Não seria difícil um desavisado esbarrar em alguma de suas fotos à procura do Louvre.

Ice-cream balnéaire
Martin Parr
Eighties, Angleterre
Martin Parr
Ventre blanc à l’air
Martin Parr
Nager quelque part

New Brighton, caissière
Martin Parr
Caddie, pack de bières
Martin Parr
Plastique dans la mer
Martin Parr
Jeter quelque part

Casino désert
Martin Parr
Vert fluo, dessert
Martin Parr
Cheveux bleus, grand-mère
Martin Parr
Vieillir quelque part

Gasoil ou super
Martin Parr
Enfant à l’arrière
Martin Parr
Mal au cœur sur terre
Martin Parr
Dormir quelque part

L’une des raisons pour lesquelles j’aime la rentrée, c’est le retour des expositions, des pièces de théâtre, la reprise de la vie culturelle parisienne.

Je sais que j’ai de la chance de pouvoir me permettre d’aller régulièrement au théâtre, occasionnellement à l’opéra et de voir un très grand nombre d’expo.
Tout cela prend du temps et des sous, alors je savoure le bonheur de pouvoir consacrer un peu des deux à la stimulation de mes neurones et à ma confrontation au beau.

Cette année se profilent 3 ballets parmi mes préférés, une dixaine de spectacles au Théâtre de la Ville et toutes les expo du Grand Palais (carte Sésame oblige). Yum, yum, j’en salive d’avance!

Pour nous mettre en jambe Mr Papillon avons été voir l’exposition “Planète Parr” de Martin Parr au Jeu de Paume.

Nous avons adoré.

Parce que c’est de la très belle photographie, parce que c’est une collection aussi insolite que passionnante, parce que Martin Parr est un bon représentant de notre époque.

Un peu comme je considère qu’Henri Cartier-Bresson et Robert Doisneau l’ont été de leurs époques.

Martin Parr est un photographe et un collectionneur de son temps. Il a une approche extrêmement contemporaine et juste de notre monde, et il en collectionne des symboles qui – s’ils sont a prime abord très étranges – sont finalement extrêmement justes.

Toutes les montres Saddam font froid dans le dos, mais elles donnent finalement une assez bonne idée de ce qu’a pu être son régime.

Quant à ses photos de l’univers du luxe et de la richesse, on est bien loin de l’univers “luxe, calme et volupté”. On nage en pleine vulgarité, dans le trash, et on en ressort avec une espèce de nausée.
Même si cet univers d’argent et de paillettes peut paraître bien tentant par son illusion de facilité et de confort, les photos lui redonnent une réalité salvatrice.

L’exposition a lieu au Jeu de Paume jusqu’au 27 Septembre, courez-y!!

**********************************************
Planète Martin Parr
Musée du Jeu de Paume
1 place de la Concorde (8ème)
Jusqu’au 27 Septembre 2009

Miren detenidamente la fotografía de arriba, con su papel higiénico, su carne picada y su periódico sensacionalista… parece una imagen vulgar, un día cualquiera en un supermercado cualquiera. Sustituyan las latas de baked beans, por latas de frijoles o lentejas, y tendrán una composición igual o muy parecida pero en su cultura de origen. Es una imagen que parece dar muy poca información y que tiene una valor artístico, cuando menos, discutible. Incluso podríamos argumentar que el fotógrafo, Nigel Shafran, no participó en la composición de la obra ya que probablemente fueron las manos expertas de la cajera los que arreglaron el conjunto: los productos que vienen en envases duros como latas y agua están agrupados entre si, y separados de los que tienen envoltorios más frágiles como la carne y el papel de váter.  Sin embargo, he descubierto que esa foto es para mí una imagen clave, una pieza de gran importancia para el puzzle que estoy montando. Primero, es evidente que la fotografía de Shafran remite a una imagen tradicional de la historia del arte como es el “bodegón” o dicho en bonito “naturaleza muerta” (en inglés “still life), sino vean y comparen esta foto con un par de maestros de ese género que consistía en poner  encima de una mesa y de un cuadro una col, un conejo, unas flores y si estabas inspirado, una calavera. Los maestros pintores de ese género, como decía, son Luis Egidio Melendez y en plan chungo, chunguísimo, están los bodegones horror de Jan Van Kessel III (ya saben… no confundir con Kessel I y II):

Bodegón Luis Melendez

Bodegón horror: peces moribundos, cangrejos reptantes, y gatos y perros enloquecidos...

La cuestión es que esa foto no es simplemente una actualización del bodegón barroco o del bodegón cubista, sino que es una imagen de nuestro tiempo porque participa en una tendencia artística que podríamos denominar como “realismo capitalista” (o así lo llamo yo, al menos…). He descubierto que el realismo capitalista es el elemento que une un montón de cosas que me gustan pero que se dan de hostias entre si. Presten atención y aprendan cómo supere la esquizofrenia cultural que me produjeron las neurosis consumistas de esta sociedad, que además es la suya también mentecatos.

¡¡¡Descubrí la clave!!!

Bien podríamos pensar que el realismo capitalista es aquel arte (incluyo cine y publicidad) donde se ponen en evidencia, deliberadamente o no, las relaciones de explotación y de compra-venta de esta sociedad de consumo. Es además un arte donde existe una masiva presencia, un protagonismo de los objetos, u otros elementos reducidos a objetos, que marcan la estética general de la obra con sus superficies brillantes. Esta bonita ecuación, con la que finalmente espero entrar por la puerta grande del academicismo y conseguir una cátedra para impartir las clases de “Realismo Capitalista I: hasta 1970” (incluiría como obra obligatoria Mad Men)… es esta ecuación, como decía, la que me permite unir obras tan separadas entre sí y que me encantan como son Der siebente Kontinent de Michael Haneke (una obra excepcional basada en los objetos) y Sex and the City (una película que reduce a las personas a objetos, a maniquís), las grandes serigrafías de Warhol (el mejor Warhol es el peor, el de los 80, cuando era muy aburrido y pintaba coches y hacía cuadros de grandes cuchillos), las fotografías de Steven Meisel pero también las de Martin Parr, los planos quirúrgicos del cine porno que transforma las vaginas en formas abstractas o las enculadas en actos mecánicos… ya me entienden. Si algunos de ustedes cree que lo de arriba no tiene ningún sentido esperen al siguiente giro porque…

¿Esa escena de Haneke se parece a un bodegón de Kessel o la estoy flipando?

Desde luego se parece a esta foto de Jeff Wall

Este realismo capitalista no sólo se queda en la fabricación, venta y distribución de imágenes bidimensionales sino que también abarca la producción de objetos tridimensionales, de objetos tridimensionales graaaandes, casas y esas cosas. Vamos que existe una arquitectura del realismo capitalista. Ustedes pensarán “ahhh, las grandes obras de los arquitectos estrella”, pero no, olvídense de esa chorrada, eso es capitalismo disfrazándose de cultura, y aquí estamos hablando de buena mierda, de mierda pura y peligrosa. Estamos hablando de centros comerciales, de grandes almacenes, de laberintos de ratas consumistas, un tema en el que soy, y tomen esto con pinzas, “experto”. Miren, mientras vivía en Estados Unidos porque mi mujer fue becada, pasaba las tardes en una biblioteca donde descubrí el apasionante tema de la arquitectura comercial: sus locos arquitectos, sus trucos de vodevil, su manipulación espacial. A la vuelta a España fui invitado por un museo, el MUVIM, y por la ETSAV (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Valencia) a impartir unas conferencias sobre el tema de la arquitectura comercial que acabaron convirtiéndose en una serie de charlas sobre la influencia del cine en la arquitectura comercial, y sobre la influencia de la arquitectura comercial en los primeros cines. Como en la ETSAV el estupendo servicio académico y técnico te da todas las facilidades, te trata de maravilla y encima te graba, he decidido colgar un breve fragmento de la charla porque va al pelo. Aquí me tienen, verme no se me ve, la verdad, pero se puede oír mi voz nasal, afeminada y pretenciosa (sueno pretencioso porque estaba nervioso, que el público parecía estar formado por ídolos de Pascua…no, que luego se ríen):

Estas ideas que suelto en el video se manifiestan en, evidentemente, la arquitectura comercial pero también en mi arte comercial preferido, el cine. El cine a veces, como en Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009), refleja a la perfección que el gran romance del SXX es aquél que mantenemos con los objetos y que se materializa en el acto de la compra-venta. Y vamos terminando porque pocas escenas han reflejado mejor ese acto que la famosa secuencia de los suertes / sweaters de la película de culto Lord Love A Duck (una de surfistas y tal), frente a esto poco se puede añadir salvo “Pa-pa-ya surpise?!!!”:

pd: Una reacción muy parecida tuvimos Sara y yo cuando descubrimos la cadena de tiendas “New Look”, bruuuutal…

pd: El fotógrafo del bodegón capitalista Nigel Shafran tiene en su página web una serie de retratos de trabajadores de supermercados que son muy chulos. A verlos.

pd: Se acaba el chorro de posts y de escribir en el blog, me tengo que poner a currar y a estudiar, buuuuuhhhh…

For three days, the 18th edition of the Savignano Immagini Festival transforms a quiet Italian town near Rimini into  a hive  of cultural activity. The town plays host to free photography exhibitions with sixteen gallery spaces dedicated to broad themes of identity and perception. I visited on the final day, a sunny Sunday afternoon, and while I didn’t get to see everything, I saw enough to give this initiative a massive thumbs up.

Magnum photographer Martin Parr takes a wry and grotesque look on ‘Luxury’ .  I recall a book of his photos from 1986 called ‘The Last Resort’  which collected bleak views of the Northern English seaside town of  New Brighton.  For the show at Savignano he turns his lens to the theme of ‘Luxury’ which you might think would be a more glamorous subject. Instead, his images of the moneyed classes looks every bit as depressing as the working class holidays he captured two decades ago. Proof, asif it were needed,  that money alone  doesn’t  buy style or elegance.

A sharp contrast to Parr’s brash colour shots were those of Italian, Simona Ghizzon. Her  ‘Piccole Mani’ (Small hands) presented  black and white portraits of female factory workers ( ‘hands’) – a  worthy topic but her poorly lit  images seemed  to emphasise the bleakness of these lives too overtly. I think the show would have benefited from less polemical perspective; a few colour images would have given a broader view.

Another Italian ,  Simona Vinci, presented words and  fairly nondescript scenes from near her home town of Bologna. The photographs  were less interesting than the evocative accompanying text about how our souls become at one with places we are familiar.

The most striking images of the afternoon  were those  of German photographer, Peter Bialobrzeski. It came as no surprise  to read afterwards that one of Bialobrzeski’s all time favourite movies is Blade Runner. The living  Sci-Fi of a series which he entitles ‘Lost In Transition’ is very evident. He depicts various  futuristic cities under construction  where the landscapes, homes and businesses  they are rapidly replacing are still visible.  Rough shacks and ramshackle buildings are juxtaposed with shiny bright tower blocks. These are cities as physical manifestations of the way the visualise progress, showing what is viewed as expendable and outmoded. It doesn’t give much cause for optimism.  They testaments to a philosophy where sustainability and human centred environment are either ignored or treated as irrelevant. A portfolio of these extraordinary pictures can be found on Bialobrzeski’s website.

]]> http://monsoleiiil.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/planete-parr-au-jeu-de-paume/ Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:21:45 +0000 monsoleiiil http://monsoleiiil.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/planete-parr-au-jeu-de-paume/

Colorée, hétéroclite et décalée, l’exposition au Jeu de Paume nous amène dans un univers qui mélange art et culture populaire – souvent surprenant, parfois insolite (voire “légèrement” macabre, faut l’avouer^^) mais toujours original et peu commun, en dépit du côté plus ou moins “banal” d’une grande partie des questions abordées.
Réunissant à la fois ses propres photos et des objets faisant partie de la collection privée de Martin Parr, l’expo présente un nombre assez considérable d’œuvres qui se voient regroupés – selon un principe thématique – autour de sujets sociaux (et sociétaux) comme, par exemple, le luxe, la consommation, le tourisme de masse et les loisirs. Observateur attentif, Parr arrive à mettre le doigt sur les petits détails tantôt curieux, tantôt impromptus et fugaces qui sont typiques pour son travail et qui révèlent souvent les (petites ?) imperfections à peine cachées de notre monde…et de la vie en société tout court. Ainsi, ses instantanés frôlent souvent l’absurde (en évitant cependant la dérive dans le ridicule), intriguent, et incitent le visiteur à réfléchir sur un certain nombre de choses…
Dans l’ensemble, l’exposition “Planète Parr” vaut le détour, notamment à cause de son caractère multiforme qui propose aux visiteurs un parcours à la fois intéressant et divertissant et donne un aperçu réussi d’un artiste et de son œuvre qui semblent tous les deux à la fois éclectiques et anticonformistes.

Et last but not least (effet secondaire plutôt agréable^^) : la prochaine fois que j’écouterai la chanson de Vincent Delerm, je me sentirai moins bête – c’est pas mal non plus, après tout

Finalmente é possível colocar um tema bonito no seu iGoogle. Foi lançado o Martin Parr iGoogle Theme, com imagens do fotógrafo da Magnum, que mudam a cada hora, deixando sua página principal do Google bem mais interessante.

Além disso, é possível inserir a gadget ‘What Time is it, Martin Parr’, que ao ser instalado, diponibiliza imagens do fotógrafo ao longo do dia, enquanto lhe informa que horas são!

Foto: Martin Parr, Tibilisi, April 2009 / Magnum Photos

Eröffnung der Ausstellung ist am Freitag, 04.09 2009 um 19.30 Uhr. Besonderes Schmankerl: Die Fotografen Martin Parr, Thomas Dworzak, Alex Majoli und Martine Franck, der Kurator Chris Boot sowie der Georgische Kulturminister und Botschafter werden anwesend sein.

Uferhallen, Berlin
Uferstraße 8-11
13357 Berlin

4. – 13. September 2009
www.uferhallen.de

COLLECTION PRIVEE : LE MONDE SELON PARR, Connaissance des Arts Photo, n°20, juin-août 2009.

Martin Parr n’est pas seulement le célèbre photographe de Magnum. Depuis l’enfance, il amasse. Il est aujourd’hui l’un des plus grands collectionneurs de photographies et d’objets populaires dont un florilège est présenté cet été au Jeu de Paume (du 30 juin au 27 septembre 2009).

A 55 ans passés, Martin Parr arbore un physique et une allure de monsieur tout le monde. Mais, en l’occurrence, on pourrait se demander si cela ne constitue pas un atout. Quoi de mieux en effet qu’une façade passe-partout pour se frayer un chemin incognito parmi des hordes de touristes, surprendre des japonais endormis dans le métro ou naviguer d’un monde à l’autre, des fish and chips graisseux aux très huppés champs de course? Photographe star de la célébrissime agence Magnum depuis 25 ans, l’homme a construit sa carapace. Sympathique mais laconique, affable mais réservé, Martin Parr illustre le légendaire flegme britannique tandis que ses activités multiples étonnent par leur excentricité.
Un slip à l’effigie de Barak Obama, des montres Saddam Hussein, des mugs Margaret Thatcher, un paquet de Chips géant glorifiant les Spice girls… mais aussi des figurines, des pins, des réveils, des vases, des barres de chocolat, des presse-papiers commémoratifs : cet hallucinant inventaire n’est qu’un mince aperçu des collections de Martin Parr que l’exposition du Jeu de Paume révèle cet été. Outre cette tripotée d’objets populaires, Martin Parr possède aussi une très sérieuse collection de photographie britannique et internationale, une immense collection de cartes postales centrée sur le XIXè siècle et les années 1950-60, une collection de papier peints et enfin un inestimable fonds de livres de photographie comprenant plus de 10 000 titres, matière première d’un livre érudit en deux volumes édité par ses soins chez Phaidon .

Lire la suite de l’article de Véronique Bouruet-Aubertot dans le magazine Connaisance des Arts Photo, n°20, juin-août 2009.

À lire :
Martin Parr, Val Williams, Phaïdon , 39,95 euros
Le monde de Martin Parr, Cartes postales et objets, 2 vol. editions Textuel, 95 euros
Le livre de photographies, une histoire, Phaidon, 2004 et 2006.