Martin Parr: Mischievous Ironist

Photographs by

Martin Parr

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
Self-proclaimed "populist" photographer, Martin Parr, has ruffled feathers, tickled funny bones, and touched raw nerves around the world. His unflinching eye and unrepentant camera have caught us humans unaware of where we are and how we act — and how we might appear in some moments to a ruthless witness armed with a loaded camera. 

As a true master of social commentary, he captures humanity in all of its follies. He frames these revealing moments with quirky precision and presents them in ultra-vivid color.


Martin Parr and I met in the outdoor courtyard of his hotel in Arles this summer for a lively conversation over breakfast. In this tightly edited 10 minute audio interview for Lens Culture, Parr talks about irony, searching for vulnerability, British humor, photo books, the secret history of photography, and more. Enjoy!




— Jim Casper

View Martin Parr's Profile

FEATURED ARTICLES:
What Still Remains

Backhaus takes photographs of left-behind objects and rooms devoid of people, lending significance to things usually cleared away or overlooked. Although What Still Remainsshows no people, each image is alive with the lingering energy of those who have left the scene as it is.

Aral Tengizi — story of a dying sea
The demise of the Aral Sea (formerly the second largest lake in the world) over the past four decades is more than another ecological disaster. Its fate is a reflection of the negative consequences of political and economic policies across Central Asia. A photo-essay by Radek Skrivanek.
The Pigs

An award-winning photobook, The Pigs echoes the design and form of "The Economist" to deliver photoessays of real situations in four countries suffering in economic crisis in the EU: Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain — referred to by the financial press with the disparaging acronym PIGS.

Voyage en Périphérie
Cyrus Cornut's look at the bizarre and often alien-like architecture offers a stark counterpoint to typical romantic images of France.