Martin Parr (B

Teachers’ Resource 1 Martin Parr (b. 1952) explored through a series is one of Britain’s best-known of projects that investigate and most widely celebrated British identity today. photographers. The exhibition This resource enables teachers Only Human: Martin Parr and students to draw out key at the National Portrait Gallery themes within the exhibition. (7 March - 27 May 2019) focuses Selected artworks are starting on one of his most engaging points for conversation, debate and enduring subjects – people. and making around a range of subjects including: The exhibition includes portraits of people from around the world, with a special emphasis on Parr’s wry observations of Britishness, Porthcurno, Cornwall, England, 2017 England, Cornwall, Porthcurno, © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos Gallery / Rocket

This resource aims to introduce The information in this resource lines of enquiry and encourage is suitable for KS3 to KS5 critical thinking from students. Secondary Art (but can be Ordinary People Before bringing a group to the adapted for other age groups), exhibition, teachers are invited and encourages students to to visit the exhibition, read the question what a portrait can be. Leisure resource and decide which aspects are most relevant Through discussion and art Consumerism for their group. activities, the resource provides opportunities for students and This resource can also be used teachers to explore the work British Identity in the classroom either following of Martin Parr, and create their a visit or as a stand-alone guide own work in response. for groups unable to visit the Gallery.

2 Like all great“ artists, Martin Parr has altered how we see the world. We see a queue of posh people, a buffet served on a Union Jack tablecloth or a lurid beach scene and we think of his work.

He is one of the foremost chroniclers of our times. He sees our tender aspirations, our vanities, our sincere enthusiasms, our anachronistic traditions, our often unpredictable diversity – and he both ribs us and applauds us, blinded by his flash and decked

in saturated colour. (1)

” Grayson Perry 2 3 Ordinary People

Through Martin Parr’s lens we are all ordinary people, and we are all heroic. Whether photographing a stranger, a friend, Her Majesty the Queen, or other public figures, Martin approaches each in much the same way. His pictures are often humorous, but the people they portray transcend their comic circumstances. (2)

Most of his pictures of people are what we might call ‘environmental portraits’, images in which identity of people and place intertwine. Time and again, people are shown in circumstances that provide a window, however small, on their personality. (2)

Nice, France, 2015 Mary Lynn Myrkel, Gay Pride march, © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2010 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery 4 Harbhajan Singh, Willenhall Market, Walsall, Norman Soper who won Best Pot Leek at the Sandwell Show, the Black Country, England, 2011 West Bromwich, the Black Country, England, 2010 5 4 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery Discussion Activity

Is a picture of a person always a portrait? Plan your own ‘ordinary portrait’.

What is the location? How important is the Decide where you will create this. environment in which the person is photographed? Is there an environment where people gather locally – for example a local market, beach, park etc. What do Martin Parr’s images reveal about the people he has photographed? Is there an event you could attend and invite people to be photographed? Find somewhere that you feel Do you think Parr has captured something comfortable approaching people to take part. extraordinary in the ordinary? Think about what to include in the portrait – for example a pet, or object of significance that reflects the person’s personality or interests.

Invite people to have their portrait taken.

6 Parr gravitates to the spontaneous and unexpected. Although he plans his travels carefully around specific events and situations, he rarely poses his subjects, preferring instead to capture activity as it unfolds. (2)

Martin Parr excels at portraying those many external elements that surround and define us. Not just the things we buy, but the clothes we wear, the sports teams we champion, the clubs and political parties to which we belong, and the traditions we honour. (2)

Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, England, 2018 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery

Parr never shows us a ‘decisive moment’, as Cartier-Bresson had it – the photograph as stage, in which everything resolves into meaningful synchronicity for a flicker of an instant. Instead, he takes us behind the scenes, revealing us as we never intended to be seen, our actions unrehearsed and unpolished, our facial expressions awkward. (2)

Notting Hill Carnival, London, England, 2017 6 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery 7 Discussion Activity

Are the people in Martin Parr’s photographs aware Observe what is going on around you of him taking the picture? – can you capture the audience before or during an event or the performers off duty? Where has Martin Parr taken these portraits? Decide where you’d like to create this. Has Martin Parr captured the main event or behind the scenes? Plan your own documentary photograph at an event or celebration. What do these images reveal about the people photographed? Think about how you’d like to frame your image, what will you include and what will you leave out? Are these images about behaviour or personality?

What can you capture about the people you are photographing if they are not invited to pose for the camera?

8 Leisure By photographing people in their leisure time, Parr highlights the aspirations we have and enjoyment we seek. Identities are explored through how we socialise, relax, celebrate and enjoy ourselves, in photographs, which capture those unselfconscious moments.

Sikh wedding, City Hall, Cardiff, Wales, 2008 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery

Parr frequently photographs in series. Some of these series are long and open-ended, as with his photographs of people dancing (taken) around the world. (2) Margate, Kent, 1986 8 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery 9 At the racecourse, women choose feathered hats and fascinators to match their vibrant dresses and sunglasses, while men wear bowlers and top hats. (2) Sorrento, Italy, 2014 Italy, Sorrento, © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Gallery Rocket

Durban July races, South Africa, 2005 Africa, South races, Durban July © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos Gallery / Rocket Every visitor to the beach displays her Frequently photographed with flash, or his own distinctive towel and swimsuit, his subjects are plainly laid bare, denied carefully chosen. (2) even the modesty of shadow. Sometimes positioning himself at oblique angles, and cutting off the edge of the frame in unexpected places, Parr allows blur and extremes of focus to enter his pictures. The results may appear haphazard, yet their success hinges on small, acutely observed details. (2)

Kentucky Derby, Louisville, USA, 2015 Clacton, Essex, England, 2017 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery 10 Discussion Activity

Where has Martin Parr taken these portraits? Plan your own ‘leisure portrait’.

How much do the people photographed identify Decide where you’d like to create this with the event or activity taking place? – a sporting event such as a football or netball match, a public space or tourist attraction. Do the people captured identify as part of a group? Focus on the details – what people are wearing, what they are eating and drinking, what is their What do Martin Parr’s images reveal about body language? the people he has photographed? Create a portrait that captures people interacting with the space and other people.

10 11 Consumerism

Shopping and selling are recurring The picture serves both as a record themes in Parr’s work. of the sale and a portrait of the In his hometown of Bristol he family – a window on their values shows a meticulously presented and relationships, how they dress, car boot sale, a mother and two and how they play. (2) children beside a bright blue Ford Fiesta hatchback, parked against a graffitied concrete wall. The car is shiny and well looked- after, and the items for sale are artfully arranged. (2)

Stack It High, Hessle Road, Hull, England, 2017 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery

By photographing our everyday Ironically, as Martin Parr’s fame lives Parr highlights the choices has grown, he has increasingly we make, the rituals we take part become a part of the very same in and how we present ourselves material culture he once set out to others. The ordinary is to photograph. His images have presented as extraordinary and been licensed and published in familiar surroundings are seen countless forms, from fashion in a new way. advertisements to construction siding, appearing on album covers and beer mats. Perhaps more interesting still, ‘Martin Parr’ has evolved subversively into a brand – the exact phenomenon he has long examined sceptically. (2)

Car boot sale, Bristol, England, 2016 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery 12 Discussion Activity

What is the connection between what we buy Shopping centres have featured in Parr’s photography and who we are or who we aspire to be? for much of his career. Garish colours, brand logos and synthetic materials compete for attention in his What message do these images send regarding photographs. consumerism? Select a shopping area where you can photograph What do Martin Parr’s images reveal about people. This could be a market, retail park, shopping the people he has photographed? centre.

Observe how people ‘activate’ the location. How does the merchandise for sale relate to the people buying or looking at the items?

Create an image which explores the relationship between what is for sale, and the people shopping.

Think about how far away you want to photograph your scenario. Will this feature one person or a number of people? Will the focal point be people or the items for sale? Consider colour and scale.

12 13 British identity

Britain, and more particularly, the lives, habits and peculiarities of ordinary Britons, is the subject with which Parr is most often identified, and the subject he has revisited consistently throughout his career. (2)

Stone Cross Parade, St George’s Day, West Bromwich, the Black Country, England, 2017 Bad Fallingbostel army base, Heidekreis, © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery Lower Saxony, Germany, 2013 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery

Crisp ’N’ Fry, Spring Bank, Hull, England, 2017 The Grecians’ Ball with Alice in Wonderland theme, © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery Christ’s Hospital School, West Sussex, England, 2010 14 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery Parr’s interest in British life dates back to his earliest days as a photographer. As a secondary school student aged fifteen in 1967, he produced his first photo essay on Harry Ramsden’s fish and chip shop in Guisley on the outskirts of Leeds. The two black-and-white photographs preserved from this series foreshadow what would become Parr’s signature style. (2)

Magdalene Ball, Cambridge, England, 2015 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery

The Britain“ Parr reveals is prone to absurdity and

quirky humour. (2) Over the course of Parr’s career, no subject has occupied him more comprehensively, ” or more consistently, than the countless small things that make Britain what it is. He probes the clichés of British life – cups of tea and English breakfasts, rhubarb, umbrellas and sticks of rock – giving them fresh consideration. (2)

Martin’s first photo essay about Harry Ramsden’s fish and chip shop, England, 1967 15 14 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos / Rocket Gallery Discussion Activity

Discuss with your group what ‘British’ means Plan your own portrait which represents to them. British identity today.

Do you identify with any of the images Are there local or regional traditions that you’d on display? like to bring attention to?

Where has Martin Parr taken these portraits? Decide where you’d like to create your portrait Are they a rural or urban setting? and who you would like to include.

How do the ‘extras’ in the photograph add meaning How you will frame your image, will you use to the portrait? the location to add meaning?

Do the photographs subvert or play into stereotypical Which ‘extras’ will you decide to include? images of Britishness?

Will Brexit affect your local community?

What do Martin Parr’s images reveal about Britain today?

16 Only Human competition Things to consider

Only Human photography competition for schools Are there traditions, trends or events that you can capture on camera? Open for entries 7 March – 22 April 2019 Inspired by the exhibition Only Human: Martin Parr, Can you create portraits of people involved in these events? we invite students to create their own portrait photographs to represent British identity. Will you invite them to pose for the camera or capture the moments behind the scenes? Invitation to students: Have you thought about what British identity means to people today? Will Brexit affect your local community? How we capture British behaviours? Depending on where you live, your family background and your lived experience, this can vary Can you communicate this in photographs of people? tremendously. Taking your lead from the above, create portrait photographs to represent British identity in 2019.

The prize includes the chance to see your work on display at the National Portrait Gallery. Endnotes

You could use the activities in this pack to encourage your students Texts in this resource are reproduced from the book to create a portrait relating to the theme of British identity. Only Human: Photographs by Martin Parr, to be published and released by Phaidon on 7 March 2019 to coincide with The competition is open to all students at primary and secondary the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, and available schools and colleges in Key Stage One to Five. to purchase from the Gallery’s shops and online.

16 17 Only Human: Martin Parr 7 March - 27 May 2019

Open daily 10.00 – 18.00 Fridays until 21.00 npg.org.uk/martinparr

Supported by Gucci

National Portrait Gallery St Martin’s Place Supported by the Bern Schwartz Family Foundation London WC2H 0HE

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