debris amongst the sunbathers and a sense of accep-
tance of the down worldly conditions occupied within
the holiday resort. The technical change in style col-
luding with the forthright critical depiction of the
subject was to become Parr’s recognizable trademark.
His photography has a tendency to sharply divide
his critics. For some his brutal honesty is a welcome
breath of realism, humor, and observation, while his
detractors claim his work to be mean, cynical, exploi-
tative, and voyeuristic, accentuating only the nega-
tive and the contemptible. Following the success of
The Last Resort, Parr continued with a series of
books and exhibitions. His prodigious output includes
The Cost of Living(1989) portraying the new afflu-
ence within the English middle classes during the
1980s, andSmall World(1995) concerning the homo-
geneity within worldwide tourism. As well as these
major projects, Parr has always continued to work
as a photojournalist (the content of his books often
deriving from this work) and to publish and exhibit
further series and collections focusing on smaller
themes. Bored Couples (1993) and English Food
(1995) portray exactly what their titles suggest while
Japonais Endormis(1998) is a series of close-up head
shots of sleeping Japanese commuters. In producing
these smaller books and exhibition catalogues, it has
given Parr the chance to pinpoint his subject matter
and to experiment with technological changes in his
style of photography.
Parr’s usage of technology is important, not only to
the visual style associated with his projects but is
sometimes an influence on what he shoots and how
he exhibits. In Bad Weather, Parr commented,
‘‘Because I am a great disciple of discipline within
photography I needed to narrow down my subject
matter.’’ The underwater camera and flashgun utilized
in this work unified the subjects despite the diversity
of locations. The change to color in the 1980s was
seen at the time as a bold move. Monochrome was
traditionally the medium of the photojournalist but
color offered more realism, honesty, and purity to
Parr. When he started to use ring flash, the technology
demanded he only photograph close-up, bringing a
new attention to ugly detail within his work as seen in
English Foodand later,Common Sense(1999), a work
which allowed him to experiment with conventions in
presentation. Using cheap, color laser prints, Parr
exhibited this work simultaneously in 43 locations.
The saturated colors unify the similarities seen world-
wide on the banal and ordinary details current in
everyday life at the end of the twentieth century.
In 1994, he had become a member of the photo
agency Magnum after much debate within the group
on his suitability. Many photographers within the
cooperative perceived their role was to celebrate and
reflect humanity positively, and not as they reck-
oned Parr did, to criticize and ridicule. On this
dichotomy, Parr was forthright in Russell Miller’s
history of the agency:
Of course I am biased, of course I am voyeuristic, of
course I exploit, but I believe this applies to all photogra-
phy and I am only unusual insofar as most photographers
always deny these things, whereas I am happy to
acknowledge that we are all voyeuristic and exploitative.
(Miller 1997, 298)
These differences recognized, if not accepted by all
members, Parr would become one of Magnum’s lead-
ing and busiest photographers. As well as actively
involving himself within the running of the agency,
he has diversified to pursue other areas of photography
including fashion and advertising. He has continued to
teach, has made several television documentaries, and
compiled and edited books on subjects sympathetic to
his own work.Boring Postcards(2000) celebrated the
banalities of his collection of picture postcards and
Autoportrait (2000) collected together portraits of
Parr taken by local photographers around the world.
While being an amusing series of snapshots and mem-
entos of various tourist attractions, the theme of the
book reflects ideas seen in his earlier work such as
Small World and Common Sense. Although both
equally praised and criticized for his photography,
Parr has pursued his career from a forthright, coher-
ent, and individual viewpoint. The directness seen in
his photojournalism, exhibitions, books, and films has
left him at the close of the twentieth century as one of
Britain’s most important and original photographers
who has also become an important figure in the con-
temporary art world as well.
MikeCrawfordSeealso:Magnum Photos; Visual AnthropologyBiography
Born in Epsom, Surrey in England in 1952. Studied photo-
graphy at Manchester Polytechnic, 1970–1973. Arts
Council of Great Britain Photography Award, 1975–- Visiting Lecturer at National College of Art &
Design, Dublin and Chelsea School of Art, 1975–1982.
Visiting Lecturer at School of Documentary Photography,
Newport, 1982–1984. Visiting Lecturer at West Surrey
College of Art & Design, 1983–1990. Visiting Professor
of Photography at University of Industrial Arts, Helsinki,
1990–1992. Member of Magnum Photo Agency, 1994
onwards. Living in Bristol, England.
Selected Individual Exhibitions
1974 Home Sweet Home; Impressions Gallery, York, and
Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, United KingdomPARR, MARTIN