British photographer Martin Parr is, it's fair to say, one of the most influential documentary photographers of our time. Having spent the last half-century carving out a reputation for his candid and often humorous depictions of everyday life, his work is characterized by its focus on ordinary people and their surroundings – often in suburban or working-class environments.
Parr has an uncanny knack for capturing the quirks, contradictions and idiosyncrasies of human behavior, presenting a sometimes satirical but always honest view of society. A Magnum member since 1994, he's published more than 40 photobooks and has featured in around 80 exhibitions worldwide.
Most people, however, will be unfamiliar with work from his formative years. A new exhibition aims to correct that balance.
Martin Parr: Early Works has just opened at the Fotografie Forum Frankfurt (FFF) in Germany and continues until January 05 2025. This landmark show offers a unique opportunity to explore the early career of this most celebrated of documentary photographers.
Back to the Seventies
This exhibition marks the first time in Germany that Martin Parr's works from 1970 to 1985 will be on display. For photographers familiar with Parr's later, color-saturated, ironic snapshots of modern life, this collection of over 50 rarely-seen black-and-white photographs offers a fascinating insight into the development of his distinctive style.
The images on show all showcase Parr's keen eye for the nuances of daily life. From bird club activities in Surrey to pilgrimages to see the Pope in Ireland, and from holiday resorts to village banquets, visitors will see how he has honed his ability to find humor and social commentary in the most mundane of settings.
Some standout photographs include the Mayor of Todmorden's inaugural banquet (1977), capturing hungry guests jostling at a buffet; a 1979 image from Dublin showing devout Catholics perched on a kitchen ladder, trying to glimpse Pope John Paul II; and a cow posing like a tourist on the slopes of Glastonbury Tor in Somerset, England.
These images and others showcase Parr's early mastery of composition and timing, elements that would become hallmarks of his later work.
Monochrome to color
But that's not all! For those wanting a more complete picture of Parr's evolution, the Leica Gallery in Frankfurt will simultaneously host Martin Parr in Color (running until January 05 2025). This parallel exhibition enables photographers to trace the development of Parr's style from his early black-and-white work to his later, more famous color photography.
Together, both exhibitions provide a complementary overview of the broad spectrum of his work. Exaggeration and sharpening – two of his key elements – run like a common thread through both shows, and encourage the viewer to reflect on social and cultural issues and not just enjoy the aesthetic aspects of photography.
Overall, for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of documentary photography or to gain inspiration from one of the field's masters, the show promises to be an enlightening and thought-provoking experience.
Part of the FFF's 40th anniversary celebrations, it's been curated by Celina Lunsford in close collaboration with the photographer and the Martin Parr Foundation. A publication titled, Early Works, released in 2019 by the Martin Parr Foundation in collaboration with RRB, will also be available at the FFF.
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