Exhibition dates: 13th September, 2024 – 16th February, 2025

Martin Parr (British, 1952-2025)
Elland, West Yorkshire, England, 1978
1978
From Bad Weather
Gelatin silver print
© Martin Parr | Magnum Photos

Out in the midday sun

I watch a lot of the TV program Antiques Roadshow and in the early episodes you see British people of a certain age, people who lived through the Second World War and their children, salt of the earth people who inherited objects from their mother-in-law or father-in-law because they couldn’t dust them anymore. These are British people who have a down-to-earthness and ordinariness about them… people who went to church on Sunday, went to working-class seaside resort Butlins with their family for a holiday (as I did as a child) and loved the royal family. These people project a certain consciousness, a wonderful quirky character, sense of humour and regional dialect that is uniquely British.

People such as these have always been pictured in British photography, historically through the lineage of artists such John Thomson (1837-1921) and Richard Jenkins (1890-1964) through Christina Broom (1862-1939) in the 1920s and on to Edith Tudor-Hart (1908-1973) and Bill Brandt (1904-1983) in the 1930s-1940s. These photographers were followed in the 1950s-1990s by a pantheon of strong, gritty and revelatory social documentary photographers. Indeed, this aspect of British photography has been particularly blessed by talented artists whose work focuses on “ordinary people and their surroundings – often in suburban or working-class environments.”

Artists I can mention include, but are not limited to, photographers such as Chris Killip (1946-2020), Brenda Prince (b. 1950), Roger Mayne (1929-2014), Anna Fox (b. 1961), Tony Ray-Jones (1941-1972), Colin Jones (1936-2021), Graham Smith (b. 1947), Paul Graham (b. 1956), Paul Trevor (b. 1947), James Barnor (b. 1929), Colin Jones (1936-2021), Syd Shelton (b. 1947), John Bulmer (b. 1938), Peter Mitchell (b. 1943), Don McCullin (b. 1935), Daniel Meadows (b. 1952), Neil Kenlock (b. 1950), Bandele Ajetunmobi (1921-1994), Dennis Morris (b. 1960) to name but a few: apologies if I have missed anybody for I am still learning about the many and various photographers in this field.

Into this heady mix can be added the name of that legendary British photographer Martin Parr (b. 1952). Better known for his later colour photographs of British rituals and everyday conversations – “candid and often humorous depictions of everyday life” captured with visual deftness and containing a wry sense of humour mirroring the British character – these early black and white photographs proffer the path of development for this artist.

“Shot between 1970 and 1985, the images document the subtleties and eccentricities of everyday British life from that era, spanning local traditions, holiday resorts and of course the weather, among many other things.”1 As Val Williams has insightfully observed, “Martin Parr’s early black and white photographs of the North of England are a remarkable record of an all-but disappeared society.”2

I am always fascinated with the early work of an artist. In essence, the photographs tell you what are the primary concerns for the artist and these themes usually remain with them for the rest of their career. These early black and white photographs provide a window into that ongoing investigation, that golden path. They are more subtle in their modulation of British life than in the later colour work – it’s as though the artist had to change gears with the use of colour developing a more ironic way of seeing British life through a different spatial relationship to his subjects – but in these photographs there is still that deprecating humour that is often missing in the work of his contemporaries: the barren tree emerging from the seemingly abandoned, frost covered, three-wheeler “bubble car” parked on the pavement; the seemingly abandoned Jubilee street party destroyed by rain in a desolate mining town; the contortions and consequences of grasping for food at the mayor’s inaugural banquet; the incongruity of man balancing at the top of a ladder to reach around to clean the outside of his front door window; or the implied racism as a coloured British family observes the “whites” of a different generation from afar, the space between them as wide as an ocean.

Through his beautifully observed and humorous photographs Martin Parr has become a national treasure.

My only wish… why I didn’t have more media images to show you!?

Dr Marcus Bunyan

1/ Text from the Martin Parr Studio Instagram page

2/ Val Williams. “The Ordinary Made Extraordinary: Martin Parr in Black and White,” on the Magnum website Oct 14, 2019 [Online] Cited 30/12/2024

Many thankx to Fotografie Forum Frankfurt for allowing me to publish the photographs in the posting. Please click on the photograph for a larger version of the image.

Installation views of the exhibition Martin Parr. Early Works at Fotografie Forum Frankfurt (FFF) showing at left in the bottom image, Parr’s photograph Jubilee street party, Elland, West Yorkshire, England, GB, July 1977

Martin Parr (British, 1952-2025)
Jubilee street party, Elland, West Yorkshire, England, GB, July 1977
1977
From Bad Weather
Gelatin silver print
© Martin Parr | Magnum Photos

Installation view of the exhibition Martin Parr. Early Works at Fotografie Forum Frankfurt (FFF) showing works from West Yorkshire including at left, Steep Lane Baptist Chapel buffet lunch. Doris Wilson (centre). Sowerby. Calderdale. West Yorkshire. England. GB. 1977;  at second left top, Mayor of Todmorden’s inaugural banquet, Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England, 1977; and at right, Steep Lane Baptist Chapel. West Yorkshire. England. GB. 1977

Martin Parr (British, 1952-2025)
Steep Lane Baptist Chapel buffet lunch, Sowerby, Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England, 1977
1977
Gelatin silver print
© Martin Parr | Magnum Photos

Installation view of the exhibition Martin Parr. Early Works at Fotografie Forum Frankfurt (FFF) showing an enlargement of Parr’s photograph Mayor of Todmorden’s inaugural banquet, Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England, 1977 (detail)

Martin Parr (British, 1952-2025)
Mayor of Todmorden’s inaugural banquet, Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England, 1977
1977
Gelatin silver print
© Martin Parr | Magnum Photos

Installation view of the exhibition Martin Parr. Early Works at Fotografie Forum Frankfurt (FFF) showing at left, Parr’s photograph Hebden Bridge, England, 1979; and at top right, the cover of Parr’s book Bad Weather (Zwemmer, 1982)

In 1972, he settled to the north east of Manchester, in the west Yorkshire mill town of Hebden Bridge. Though the mills were rapidly closing, the back-to-back houses and the social fabric of the smaller mill towns remained.

Hebden Bridge was an intricate fabric of social organisation, and Parr was fascinated by the many clubs and societies which flourished there. With some fellow ex-students, he rented a small shop and set up the Albert Street Workshop, which showed photographs, paintings and ceramics. Though he photographed Hebden Bridge life with great enthusiasm (one of his favorite subjects was the Ancient Order of Henpecked Husbands) and produced many memorable images in the town, the great achievement of his Hebden Bridge years was his documentation of Crimsworth Dean Methodist Chapel, high up on the moors above the town. Together with his future partner Susie Mitchell, Parr immersed himself in the life of the chapel, photographing, interviewing and taking part in events there. For him, the chapel was ‘the icon of Hebden Bridge’s dark and gloomy, rather miserable past’ and the photographs he made at Crimsworth Dene and other Methodist chapels were an elegy to a passing way of life, somber and poetic, with an occasional whisper of humour.

Val Williams. “The Ordinary Made Extraordinary: Martin Parr in Black and White,” on the Magnum website Oct 14, 2019 [Online] Cited 30/12/2024

Martin Parr (British, 1952-2025)
Rugby League Club ground, West Yorkshire, England, 1977
1977
Gelatin silver print
© Martin Parr | Magnum Photos

With the exhibition Martin Parr. Early Works on view from September 13, 2024 to February 16, 2025 the Fotografie Forum Frankfurt (FFF) shows another highlight in its 40th anniversary year. As an observer of life, the ironic and socially critical eye of Magnum photographer Martin Parr has become an integral part of the history of photography. This exhibition of rarely seen black and white images made by the British photographer between 1970 and 1985 is on view for the first time in Germany.

Bird clubs in Surrey, pilgrimages to see the Pope in Ireland, holiday resorts, sports and village banquets are only a few of the places and social activities which first grasped Martin Parr’s attention. In a special selection of fifty-eight black and white images, this show focuses on the subtleties of the unnoticed episodes found in the everyday: be it in communities draped in local traditions, street life and in the unforgettable fluctuating island weather, Parr makes us always look twice, to cherish the funny sides of life.

Included are some of Parr’s encompassing views such as The Mayor of Todmorden’s inaugural Banquette, from 1977, where hungry guests squeeze shoulder to shoulder, not to miss the best dish; or two devout Catholics anxiously awaiting a glimpse of Pope John Paul II, Dublin, 1979 a-top their kitchen ladder; as well as the animal protagonists, such as a cow posed like a day-tripper on the hillside of Glastonbury Tor.

Martin Parr. Early Works was curated by Celina Lunsford in close collaboration with the photographer and the Martin Parr Foundation. Simultaneously, the Leica Galerie Frankfurt is showing with Martin Parr in Colour (14.09.2024 – 05.01.2025), a selection of photographs in colour made by the British documentary photographer.

Known for his bold colours and everyday scenes, Parr’s famous classics are included such as the image of a woman with her face obscured by an English flag, and the view of a postcard of a crowded beach with a price tag. Equally iconic is the image of the swan looking directly into the camera, as if posing for the photograph.

Martin Parr’s colour photographs also show excerpts from everyday life in an exaggerated and sometimes absurd way. At first glance, nostalgia or romanticism seem to be at the forefront, but his works have a questioning character. As documentations of society, they contribute to its reflection, revealing the complexity and absurdity of modern life in a comical and critical way.

Together, these two exhibitions provide a complementary overview of the wide range of Martin Parr’s work. Exaggeration and hyperbole – his key elements – run like a thread through his early and late photographs, encouraging the viewer to reflect on social and cultural issues and to enjoy more than just the aesthetic aspects of photography.

Martin Parr (b. 1952 in Epsom, Surrey, GB) is a British photographer known for his perceptive and often ironic documentation of everyday life. Parr studied photography at Manchester Polytechnic and began his career in the 1970s. His work is characterised by its humorous depiction of social issues. Initially working in black and white, he switched to colour photography in the mid-1980s. He has been a member of the renowned Magnum photo agency since 1994. Parr has published numerous books and his work is exhibited and collected worldwide. In addition to his work as a photographer, he is active as a curator and a collector. The Martin Parr Foundation was established in 2014 and is based in Bristol since 2017.

Press release from Fotografie Forum Frankfurt

Martin Parr (British, 1952-2025)
Surrey Bird Club, Surrey, England, 1972
1972
Gelatin silver print
© Martin Parr | Magnum Photos

Martin Parr (British, 1952-2025)
Osmond Fan, Manchester, England
1973
Gelatin silver print
© Martin Parr | Magnum Photos

Martin Parr (British, 1952-2025)
Tom Greenwood, Hangingroyd Road, Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, England, 1975
1975
Gelatin silver print
© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

Martin Parr (British, 1952-2025)
Wedding at Crimsworth Dean Methodist Chapel, Hebden Bridge, Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England, 1977
1977
Gelatin silver print
© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

Martin Parr (British, 1952-2025)
St Peter’s Walks, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, 1979
1979
Gelatin silver print
© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

Martin Parr (British, 1952-2025)
Glastonbury Tor, Somerset, England, 1975
1975
From Beauty Spots
Gelatin silver print
© Martin Parr | Magnum Photos

Martin Parr. Early Works poster for the exhibition at Fotografie Forum Frankfurt (FFF)

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