Martin Parr on the sofa with...

Second instalment. Siân Davey.
Thanks for the link Dave (again)
No matter what the quality of your work, people will automatically take you more seriously. (especially other academics......). Someone like him can "have a chat" with a gallery director and hey presto....
It sounds as if you have a chip on your shoulder, Jerry.
But while i'm here, can't say Jem's work jumps out at me as something to be revered. Not saying its not good, just doesn't do anything for me.
That's yet another of those non-informative statements so common in these parts. Why not tell us what you DO see in the work in question? Give it a crit. Get out of the trough of negativity.


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That's yet another of those non-informative statements so common in these parts. Why not tell us what you DO see in the work in question? Give it a crit. Get out of the trough of negativity.


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Does a forum HAVE to have every statement be an informative one? Your statement came across as it being incorrect to make such a statement. Surely a quorum of people with a similar interest should allow the members simple to express a view even if that view is one of ambivalence.

I don't see that as negative. If it was negative I might have followed previous comments along the lines of his work is terrible.

If I was equating the work to a car I would say its the equivalent in the motorworld as a Ford Focus 1.5L EcoBlue automatic in Moondust Silver with a Moonwalk Soft Stitch Ebony Deep Pebble Grey interior. It does a job and does it efficiently but every aspect of it is just Meh!

Or if I was equating to a top trump card where every one of the 6 categories scored 1-10, this would be a 4 in EVERY category, safe and might win the occasional round but when you turn it over initially your heart sinks with disappointment at how bland what you have in front of you is.

Hope thats enough of a "crit" for you.
 
Jem Southam has an exibition at the University of Plymout atm (free to the public for another 2 weeks I believe) and I must say that I believe most of what I saw to be exceptional! He is an artist who is a master of composition and presents his subject in a very gentle and mature fashion. He is definately not a popularist of this time and he doesn't worry about the imperfections that a lot of modern photographers feel focussed upon.

His bird images were superb (not my thing but I could see his ability in them none the less).

Before retiring, he was the head of photography at the university.
 
Does a forum HAVE to have every statement be an informative one? Your statement came across as it being incorrect to make such a statement. Surely a quorum of people with a similar interest should allow the members simple to express a view even if that view is one of ambivalence.

I don't see that as negative. If it was negative I might have followed previous comments along the lines of his work is terrible.

If I was equating the work to a car I would say its the equivalent in the motorworld as a Ford Focus 1.5L EcoBlue automatic in Moondust Silver with a Moonwalk Soft Stitch Ebony Deep Pebble Grey interior. It does a job and does it efficiently but every aspect of it is just Meh!

Or if I was equating to a top trump card where every one of the 6 categories scored 1-10, this would be a 4 in EVERY category, safe and might win the occasional round but when you turn it over initially your heart sinks with disappointment at how bland what you have in front of you is.

Hope thats enough of a "crit" for you.

Depends on the subject, but in thread like this then yes, being informative drives the quality of discussion. Simply saying it's 'meh' without getting into why is the ambivalent equivalent of going into a thread and simply saying 'Nice shot'. Sure, an opinion can be inferred from that but actually going into why you liked a photo is heaps more helpful and can act as a springboard for discussion. The same goes for lukewarm or even negative impressions, they're not discouraged, personally I quite welcome them if they have a cogent argument behind them. Even here you've failed to address the work directly, instead resorting to analogy which isn't exactly the same as critique.
 
If I was equating the work to a car I would say its the equivalent in the motorworld as a Ford Focus 1.5L EcoBlue automatic in Moondust Silver with a Moonwalk Soft Stitch Ebony Deep Pebble Grey interior. It does a job and does it efficiently but every aspect of it is just Meh!

Or if I was equating to a top trump card where every one of the 6 categories scored 1-10, this would be a 4 in EVERY category, safe and might win the occasional round but when you turn it over initially your heart sinks with disappointment at how bland what you have in front of you is.

Hope thats enough of a "crit" for you.

Makes no sense as crit to me as I don't know anything about motor cars (all I want one do do is get me from A to B reliably and ecconomically) or top trump cards.
 
Depends on the subject, but in thread like this then yes, being informative drives the quality of discussion. Simply saying it's 'meh' without getting into why is the ambivalent equivalent of going into a thread and simply saying 'Nice shot'. Sure, an opinion can be inferred from that but actually going into why you liked a photo is heaps more helpful and can act as a springboard for discussion.
Fair enough, however we’ll have to agree to disagree on this
 
I think he's saying that JS photography is mundane, safe and unexciting by design - it will get you from A to B, but is undifferentiated from a million other similar ordinary and uninspiring vehicles.

Jerry123456 may have a point without also possessing a chip - having significant academic standing regardless of field will open up avenues to someone regardless of the quality of their output. I've been to enough scientific gatherings where various professors have espoused their views with varying degrees of merit, some of whom would never have had access to a platform without a university dept. behind them.
 
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I think he's saying that JS photography is mundane, safe and unexciting by design - it will get you from A to B, but is undifferentiated from a million other similar ordinary and uninspiring vehicles.

Jerry123456 may have a point without also possessing a chip - having significant academic standing regardless of field will open up avenues to someone regardless of the quality of their output. I've been to enough scientific gatherings where various professors have espoused their views with varying degrees of merit, some of whom would never have had access to a platform without a university dept. behind them.

Many years ago the Head of the Art Department at Aberystwyth University - a photographer and print maker (among other things) - got published a book about the ten best photographers in Wales. Funnily enough, he was one of them and two others also worked there as lecturers. It's who you know.......

(And by the way, I didn't write the post about cars.....I don't know how my name got associated with it......)
 
If I was equating the work to a car I would say its the equivalent in the motorworld as a Ford Focus 1.5L EcoBlue automatic in Moondust Silver with a Moonwalk Soft Stitch Ebony Deep Pebble Grey interior. It does a job and does it efficiently but every aspect of it is just Meh!
God, not another equipment discussion, please :)
 
So, you're alleging that academics never drive to the takeaway to buy their chips? :confused:


;)

It's what undergrads are for. ;)

In a previous organisation we liased quite closely with a particular prof and lab in Oxford. Said prof was inclined to help himself to the food of his students, and on one occasion one of his PhD students replaced the quavers in his packet with inedible packing quavers, then left them laying around for the prof to find.....
 
It's what undergrads are for. ;)

In a previous organisation we liased quite closely with a particular prof and lab in Oxford. Said prof was inclined to help himself to the food of his students, and on one occasion one of his PhD students replaced the quavers in his packet with inedible packing quavers, then left them laying around for the prof to find.....
I hope they were the PVA type which would have 'melted in his mouth'. :giggle:
 
It's what undergrads are for. ;)

In a previous organisation we liased quite closely with a particular prof and lab in Oxford. Said prof was inclined to help himself to the food of his students, and on one occasion one of his PhD students replaced the quavers in his packet with inedible packing quavers, then left them laying around for the prof to find.....
One could be forgiven for thinking that he might have enjoyed those more... I hated cheese quavers!

You've got to love academia, I often wondered what those letters meant that some people who went to university put after their names, then someone explained it to me: BSc... Bull Sh*t and crap. MSc... More Sh*t and crap, then there's PhD for Piled higher and Deeper! ;)
 
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I was kinda disappointed with it. I've watched a few videos with Bruce Gilden in and Martin Parr didn't really coax anything new from him.
Was expecting a different take as they're both colleagues at Magnum and worked together on assignments.
 
I enjoyed watching that too, Bruce is usually quite entertaining. I get the rawness of his images, but I really couldn't shove a camera and flash in peoples faces like he does. Perhaps it's a cultural thing and Brits are a bit more reserved about people invading their personal space, but if I was walking along a city street and someone shoved a camera and flash in my face when I wasn't expecting it I'd probably chin them as a reflex action, thinking it was a distraction technique for an attempted robbery!
 
I enjoyed watching that too, Bruce is usually quite entertaining. I get the rawness of his images, but I really couldn't shove a camera and flash in peoples faces like he does. Perhaps it's a cultural thing and Brits are a bit more reserved about people invading their personal space, but if I was walking along a city street and someone shoved a camera and flash in my face when I wasn't expecting it I'd probably chin them as a reflex action, thinking it was a distraction technique for an attempted robbery!
Have a watch of Dougie Wallace in London!

View: https://vimeo.com/194869208


Having watched him, Gliden and Parr on a few videos I notice that they all have a personal charm which can disarm a lot of their 'victims'.
 
I was kinda disappointed with it. I've watched a few videos with Bruce Gilden in and Martin Parr didn't really coax anything new from him.
Was expecting a different take as they're both colleagues at Magnum and worked together on assignments.
There was a lot I'd heard before, but enough fresh snippets to make it a worthwhile watch for me.
 
I was kinda disappointed with it. I've watched a few videos with Bruce Gilden in and Martin Parr didn't really coax anything new from him.
Was expecting a different take as they're both colleagues at Magnum and worked together on assignments.


Just returning to this thread, I found Bruce Gilden fascinating. I don't know his work but he's lived a life as a photographer and it seems that his success may have ebbed and flowed a bit over the years. It occurred to me that he and Martin Parr may have known each quite well through Magnum and there may even have been a competitive element present in the interview.

It was very interesting listening to Vinca Peterson talking about the rave scene but there wasn't much about photography in her interview.
 
I hadn't come across John Myers before, what an interesting photographer!
It was good to hear him list his influences. Made me dig out my copy of the Arbus book again.
 
Ever since The Afronauts appeared seemingly out of nowhere I've been wondering who she was and how she ticked. And here's a valuable sense of the person ...
It's always enlightening to watch or hear interviews with people who have only been names before. And much better to watch than unboxing videos. :)
 
I'm guessing you caught the Ffoton interview with him?
 
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