Name of Artist: Martin Parr
Dates of Artist’s Life: May 23, 1952- Present
1. Personal Background: Martin Parr was born in England in 1952. He first became interested in photography as a young teenager when his grandfather introduced him to the basic elements of photography. He studied photography at the Manchester Polytechnic in the 1970’s, and in the 1980’s, married his wife, Susan Mitchell. In 1986, they had their first and only child, Ellen. One year later, they moved to Bristol, and have lived there ever since.
2. Style: In Martin Parr’s Common Sense, his style resembles pop art of the 70’s. He heavily uses bold and primary colors in this series to create emphasis on elements in his photos. Pop art from the 70’s did the same thing, using bright colors to draw focus. In addition, the photos are all taken relatively close up, focusing on one particular thing instead of a scene as a whole. In such, each photograph is meant to send one clear message or emotion to the viewer, rather than tell a story.
3. Philosophy: Common Sense was made to show our heavy consumption as Americans and how we contribute to global consumer culture. The series highlights excess goods that Americans frequently indulge in. Parr is suggesting with his series that as Americans, we love to consume, and we care little about waste. Yet, the candid nature he took these in simultaneously represents the extreme nature I which we do this.
4. Influences: Martin Parr has influenced my work primarily in color scheme. His use of bold colors to draw emphasis is a method which I am fond of, and so when finding the focus of my image, I try to focus largely on color, or lack thereof. Additionally, Parr’s limited items in his pictures is a style that I like, and I try to employ in my photos. I prefer one object that makes a statement over many that tell a story, because I like things being clear and concise. In such, Martin Parr’s style is very prominent in my photos, and he has pushed me to focus on these aspects in order to get my point across.
5. Sources:
Dates of Artist’s Life: May 23, 1952- Present
1. Personal Background: Martin Parr was born in England in 1952. He first became interested in photography as a young teenager when his grandfather introduced him to the basic elements of photography. He studied photography at the Manchester Polytechnic in the 1970’s, and in the 1980’s, married his wife, Susan Mitchell. In 1986, they had their first and only child, Ellen. One year later, they moved to Bristol, and have lived there ever since.
2. Style: In Martin Parr’s Common Sense, his style resembles pop art of the 70’s. He heavily uses bold and primary colors in this series to create emphasis on elements in his photos. Pop art from the 70’s did the same thing, using bright colors to draw focus. In addition, the photos are all taken relatively close up, focusing on one particular thing instead of a scene as a whole. In such, each photograph is meant to send one clear message or emotion to the viewer, rather than tell a story.
3. Philosophy: Common Sense was made to show our heavy consumption as Americans and how we contribute to global consumer culture. The series highlights excess goods that Americans frequently indulge in. Parr is suggesting with his series that as Americans, we love to consume, and we care little about waste. Yet, the candid nature he took these in simultaneously represents the extreme nature I which we do this.
4. Influences: Martin Parr has influenced my work primarily in color scheme. His use of bold colors to draw emphasis is a method which I am fond of, and so when finding the focus of my image, I try to focus largely on color, or lack thereof. Additionally, Parr’s limited items in his pictures is a style that I like, and I try to employ in my photos. I prefer one object that makes a statement over many that tell a story, because I like things being clear and concise. In such, Martin Parr’s style is very prominent in my photos, and he has pushed me to focus on these aspects in order to get my point across.
5. Sources:
6. Compare and Contrast:
The first image I selected from Martin Parr's common sense is of a child with grubby fingers holding a sugary donut in their hands. The picture does not have the child's face, just their torso with the donut in the center. Parr did this to emphasize the sugary foods we give our children. We give our kids food that is horrible for them, and think little of it because it has become so normalized. I took on a similar approach in my image, and used a colorful donut to express that this backwards way of thinking comes in many forms. The donut is similarly centered and the main focus of the image to depict how much our society revolves around it.
The second image from the series that I chose is of two pieces of white bread on a pate placed upon a checkered table cloth. His image is meant to draw focus to how processed this food is, by contrasting the white of the bread with the red of the table cloth. My image focuses on a carrot cake cupcake, placed on a checkered table cloth. My image, in contrast, is meant to emphasize the cupcake as a whole, focusing on the sugary foods we eat on a regular basis. Both images highlight our reliance on processed food as a society.
The third image from the series that I chose is a woman licking a lollipop. The red hue in this picture is meant to add color and convey, again, the unnatural foods we consume regularly. However, it resembles pop art to show how it has become such a large part of out culture. I similarly used bright, unnatural colors, as well as a sugary food, and made it resemble 70's pop art. It is made to look like an advertisement to show the consumer-based society we live in.
7. Personal Artist Statement: America is a consumer-based society that is drawn in by colorful and processed items. We often think too little about what we are consuming. We feed our kids and ourselves food that is completely unnatural and filled with sugar and chemicals. My pictures are meant to emphasize this with bold colors and limited items. We need to start eating healthier, and move away from our heavy consumerism.
The first image I selected from Martin Parr's common sense is of a child with grubby fingers holding a sugary donut in their hands. The picture does not have the child's face, just their torso with the donut in the center. Parr did this to emphasize the sugary foods we give our children. We give our kids food that is horrible for them, and think little of it because it has become so normalized. I took on a similar approach in my image, and used a colorful donut to express that this backwards way of thinking comes in many forms. The donut is similarly centered and the main focus of the image to depict how much our society revolves around it.
The second image from the series that I chose is of two pieces of white bread on a pate placed upon a checkered table cloth. His image is meant to draw focus to how processed this food is, by contrasting the white of the bread with the red of the table cloth. My image focuses on a carrot cake cupcake, placed on a checkered table cloth. My image, in contrast, is meant to emphasize the cupcake as a whole, focusing on the sugary foods we eat on a regular basis. Both images highlight our reliance on processed food as a society.
The third image from the series that I chose is a woman licking a lollipop. The red hue in this picture is meant to add color and convey, again, the unnatural foods we consume regularly. However, it resembles pop art to show how it has become such a large part of out culture. I similarly used bright, unnatural colors, as well as a sugary food, and made it resemble 70's pop art. It is made to look like an advertisement to show the consumer-based society we live in.
7. Personal Artist Statement: America is a consumer-based society that is drawn in by colorful and processed items. We often think too little about what we are consuming. We feed our kids and ourselves food that is completely unnatural and filled with sugar and chemicals. My pictures are meant to emphasize this with bold colors and limited items. We need to start eating healthier, and move away from our heavy consumerism.