Martin Parr

Martin Parr

The other week, I had the incredible pleasure of attending a lecture by legendary Magnum photographer Martin Parr!

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from the lecture. Of course, I was well aware of Mr. Parr's work and while I'm one of a seemingly minority who can say I didn't hate it, I was on the fence about whether I loved it or not. I certainly appreciated the messages, the technique and the ability to create those images; however, I didn't understand the "why".

In a short hour and a half, not only was the "why" fully explained, but it was truly inspirational. Martin removed any doubt that he might have been relying on shock factor in his images and that fact alone turn me into a fan. The point I had been missing was how much of himself he had put into the work. The reason his images come across as awkward is because he shoots subjects that make him feel awkward, not to shock and make the viewer feel awkward, but to confront his own perceptions.

Amazing.

Also addressed in the lecture, Martin discussed how he conceptualizes entire projects and such rather than focusing on a single image. Though not a new concept to me, it is one I often struggle with resulting in the fact that I more often than not wind up subconsciously focusing on the single image. This again left me full of ideas and inspiration on how to carry my work forward.

The final aspect of the lecture I'm going to discuss here is a project that Mr. Parr is currently developing. I first read about the "Fashion Magazine" project quite a long time ago, but I admittedly forgot about it amongst all the other information taken in from similar sources. As one of my projects in this second semester is very, very similar hearing Martin talk about his project gave me a ton of ideas to incorporate into my own project. For example, shooting advertising for the magazine along with the editorial parts.

In short, for an hour and a half, I was able to listen to the most inspiring yet humble man I have ever seen. I am certainly no longer on the fence regarding his work as I am now a total convert and utter fan! I can only hope I can imbue some of the passion he talked with into my own work in the near future!