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Don't cry for meI am now back home in the UK, after completing my tour of South America, where I have been shooting the beaches for a project that documents the four biggest beach resorts. My final destination was Argentina where I went to Mar del Plata, which is by far its biggest resort. What a remarkable place. We all know those scenes of post-war Coney Island, with crammed beaches. Well this is just like that, but still going strong 50 years later. The place is packed.
Unlike the Chileans, the beach is crowded by mid-morning, where virtually everything under the planet is brought around and sold. There are wagons loaded with swim wear, various Argentine snacks and of course the usual trays of cheap jewellery sold by black Africans. These guys are the only people who give you grief when you pick up a camera within their vicinity. Otherwise it is wonderful to photograph in Argentina, people are friendly and not at all suspicious of photographers as the public has become in the West. I then went to Buenos Aires where I gave a lecture at MALBA, a private museum built to house a collection of art, and a stunning new building. The shows are beautifully presented and they even have an escalator, probably the only one in an art museum in South America. The day before I was taken to Centro de Fotografia Contemporanea in La Plata, which is 60 kms away from Buenos Aires. This small but vibrant gallery is run by a photographer, Ataulfo Perez Aznar. As I travel around, it is always remarkable to stumble across people like him, who keep the flame of photography alive and well. The gallery has been self-financed since it opened in 1980 when Ataulfo began to collect and show photography with a dedication and enthusiasm that is awesome. He has also built up a good collection of photography books, and this is the kind of collection that can reveal to me the hidden gems of the photography book world. I was not disappointed as various books, published in South America, that I had never seen were brought out and I was soon scribbling names, ready to hit the internet to see if they can be located. Back in Buenos Aires, I visited the apartment of Marcos Lopez, one of the most successful of the new generation of Argentine photographers. Like anyone who actually thrives in South America, he has achieved this by having an international career. Like Chile, it is almost impossible to survive without commercial work, as the market for selling prints is very fragile. What is so compelling about these territories is that there appears to be a passion for photography that we have lost in the more developed West. Photography in less developed territories has a drive that is both refreshing and re-assuring. Sometimes I think our loss of innocence, and how commoditised photography has become, is as much a hindrance as an advantage.
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Reader comments (7)
Hello Mr. Parr,
yet another interesting entry in the blog. Im especially hooked by the last paragraph about the loss of innocence. I think thats especially true these days where money has become the most important factor in the motivations of artists, not just photographers. People asking "will this sell" instead of creating for nothing else than the act of creation.
Comment posted by Rafal Pruszynski on February 26, 2007
Martin,
Maybe you will be kind enough to share your photobook wish list with me once you've found your copies? Cheers!
Comment posted by Jim Casper on February 27, 2007
dear Jim
I did share my list, it was called The Hisatory of the photobook, volume 1&2.
One book I did find was Humanario by Facio and D'Amico, the same pair that did Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires in Vol 2.
It is a book on a mental hospital and published in 1976, it is very dramatic and excellent. I would have included it in our survey , had I have known about it.
Comment posted by martin parr on March 1, 2007
Understandably, the Africans are not too happy about cameras they’re probably working there illegally. People’s reactions to cameras depends a lot on context. Photographing in Paris I’ve witnessed both extremes. When I was shooting commuters at the Gare Saint-Lazare one morning, a bloke in the crowd rushed up to me & said “Putain d’enculé, je vais casser ton appareil!” – I’ll leave the colourfulness of this diatribe to the French speakers. I obviously ignored him & just kept on shooting. A photo of him appearing in the crowd and one of him just after the abuse were probably the best I took that day, so they went up on my blog. I’ve also taken photos at the Ganesh festival for the last two years and have had no problems – participants & watchers-on were all happy to be photographed. Maybe commuters in Caracas would not have been as friendly as the people on the beach.
Comment posted by James Cox on March 2, 2007
I think how people react to the camere is the main thing that influences the taking pictures process. I am always seeing beautiful pictures I would wish to take, but often I feel I could doing kind of unrequest intrusion which can disurb the subjects. I still don't know if photographers should care about that or not, and if not, if it would be fair.
Comment posted by lisa on March 10, 2007
To me as a photographer, one has to be aware that such intrusion from subject's is common. I am from India and presently work in Gulf. There are times when i had problems from my own people than of other nationalities. It is all how you approach your subject. for example while shooting Pushkar fair in Rajasthan, India. one of the sadhu's (hindu holy man) charged at me with a stick even though i wasn't clicking his picture in the first place. It is true that sometimes you come across people who do not like to see photographers around. The bigger the camera, bigger the problem in most of the cases.
Comment posted by kiran prasad on March 11, 2007
Your show here in Buenos Aires in 1998 at the Fotogalería del Teatro San Martín curated by Juan Travnik was great.
Comment posted by Diego Fernandez on May 11, 2007