With the exhibition “MARTIN PARR. EARLY WORKS” on view from September 13, 2024 to January 5, 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 Banquet”, 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; or the animal protagonists, such as a cow posed like a day-tripper on the hillside of Glastonbury Tor.
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.
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. EARLY WORKS” was curated by Celina Lunsford in close collaboration with the photographer and the Martin Parr Foundation.
The publication “Early Works” by the Martin Parr Foundation in collaboration with RRB Photobooks, is available at the FFF for purchase.
Martin Parr
Early Works
13 September 2024 – 5 January 2025
FFF Fotografie Forum Frankfurt
Braubachstr. 30-32
60311 Frankfurt (Main)
www.fffrankfurt.org
IRELAND. Dublin. O’Connell Bridge. From ‘Bad Weather”. October. 1981.
GB. England. Somerset. Glastonbury Tor. From ‘Beauty Spots’. 1975.
GB. England. Elland. From ‘Bad Weather’. December. 1978.
IRELAND. County Leitrim. Manorhamilton. Lynotts Bar. From ‘A Fair Day’. 1983.
INDIA. Darjeeling. St Paul’s School. 1984.
GB. England. West Yorkshire. Calderdale. Halifax. Steep Lane Baptist Chapel buffet lunch. 1976.
GB. England. Wiltshire. Stonehenge. From ‘Beauty Spots’. 1976.
