8 14 December 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
S
adly,it’snotallthatoftenI havethe
chanceto seea fantasticphotography
exhibitioncloseto myhome.More
oftenthannot,anextensivejourney
byplane,trainorautomobileis requiredto see
thecalibreof workcurrentlyondisplayaspart
of thePhotographySeasonat theNational
Museumof Wales,Cardiff.
Theseasonencompassesthreeseparate
anddistinctshows,withprobablythebiggest
‘name’comingfromtheMartinParrin Wales
exhibition,whichwillbeondisplaythelongest
(it finishes4 May2020).There’salsoBernd
andHillaBecher:IndustrialVisions(onuntil 1
March2020),andARTISTROOMS:August
Sander(alsofinishing1 March).
AsanEnglishpersonresidingin Wales,
I’mconsciouslyawarethatI’llnevertrulybe
aninsider.It’sforthatreasonthatI’m
particularlydrawntowardsbothMartinParr
andBerndandHillaBecher’swork– allof
whomturnthelensonWalesfroman
outsider’sperspective,too.
If you’reat allfamiliarwithMartinParr’s
work,thenyou’llknowwhattoexpect.A wry
lookat theWelshat workandplay,
characterised(mostly)bybrightandgarish
coloursanda gooddollopof humour.It’snot
toeverybody’stastesbutpersonallyI’vealways
thoughtheapproacheshissubjectsnotwith
disdain,butwithwarmth,affectionandyes,sometimessarcasm.Havinglivedin Walesfor
wellovera decade,thoseareallthingswhich
couldalsobesaidof itspeopletoo,soI’msure
it willbewellreceived– evenif heis English.
Meanwhile,GermanphotographersBernd
andHillaBecher,whoformorethan 50 years
collaboratedona projecttodocument
industrialstructuresacrossEuropeandthe
USA,visitedWalesin 1965and1966.Based
at a campsitein Glynneath,theyexploredthe
SouthWalesvalleys,makinganextensive
seriesof photographswhichnowarealmost
memorialstoa lostworldof labourthatwas
centraltothosecommunities.
Finally,theAugustSandershow– he’s
anotherGerman– presentsmorethan 80
portraitsfromhismonumentalproject,People
of theTwentiethCentury.Thisfascinatingset
dividesindividualsandgroupsof people
accordingtoprofessionandsocialclass.
Althoughalltheshowsarefantastic,thisis
probablymyfavouriteof thethreedisplays.
Allof thesecollectionsareextensive,
remarkableandwellwortha visittothe
Welshcapitaltosee– eventhough,asa
resident,I ambiased.Youcouldeasilyspend
severalhoursin justoneof theseshows,so
makesureyousetasideplentyof timetotake
in allthree– anddon’tforgettosayhelloto
DippytheDinosaur,whois ontourheretoo
until 26 January2020.Runsuntilvariousdates
in 2020,entryfree.
NationalMuseumCardiff,
CathaysPark,
Cardiff,CF103NP.
OpenTuesday– Sunday,
10am-5pm.
Photography Season
National Museum Cardiff
AmyDaviessavoursthisextensiveshowthatbrings
togethertheworkoffourinfluentialphotographers
EXHIBITION
Below left:
Snowdonia, Wales,
1989 by Martin Parr
Below right:
Blaenserchan
Colliery, Pontypool,
South Wales, 1966
by Bernd and
Hilla Becher
© MARTIN PARR © ESTATE BERND AND HILL A BECHER, REPRESENTED BY MA X BECHER
© NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTL AND AND TATE
Secretary at West
German Radio
Cologne, 1931, by
August Sander