ONE TO CONSIDER
I think about Martin Parr’s photographs almost every day. The one of the beachgoers passed out next to the backhoe is a favorite.
The beer-bellied guy showering next to the woman at the beach is as well.
And of course, all his images of British Food, which frankly look incredibly unappealing to this American.
Martin Parr’s images are unforgettable. They’re also funny, whimsical and poignant. They tell stories. And they never feel exploitive. That’s a pretty hard combo to pull of when capturing images, but he does it so well.
Photographing Britain is Parr’s life’s work, and in this video above he mentions his love/hate relationship with it. I wish we had someone on the same mission here in the U.S. right now. I think we need it.
Parr captures the absurdity of the U.K. so well. I’d argue he does it better than a journalist, or musician, or a filmmaker, could or has. There’s just something perfect his images, and images in general. They can be downloaded, screenshot, shared and shared again. Photos just travel so easily.
As our culture and politics seem to skid farther and farther off the tracks here at home, who is capturing the chaos with a sense of innocence and poignance like Parr? Who is capturing the Trumpers, the libs, the workers, the cops, etc., without judgment or exploitation, but with wide-eyed amusement and fascination?
I honestly don’t know. If you do, please let me know. I’d love to see and share those photos.
FIVE TO READ
I really do miss Car Talk. Car Talk’s long goodbye ( Jalopnik)
Nature is amazing. East River edition (New York Times)
These photos helped end child labor in the US. (Vox)
Inside the elite, detail-obsessed world of the people who judge the Oscars of classic cars (LA Times)
The pint size nation off the English coast. (The Atlantic)
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Still my favorite knife around. All hail the Opinel.
LONG READS
I’ve been burning through David Carr’s memoir The Night of the Gun. It’s fantastic. I never had the chance to meet Carr, but I can hear is voice on every page. What a giant. What a loss.
LISTEN
Lately, I’ve been avoiding listening to music with lyrics because I’m almost distracted by them. So, I find myself listening to instrumental music, or, music with with lyrics I can’t understand because I don’t speak the language. Enter: Tinariwen. I know almost nothing about them, but I keep coming back to their droning African desert jams.
You can find their music on Spotify and YouTube.
That’s it!
John
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I love him too. I’ve never liked Diane Arbus’ work because she was exploitative. When William Eggleston takes pictures of people I think they’re close to what you’re looking for in the US -