When Martin Parr's 'The Last Resort' was first published and exhibited in 1986 it divided both critics and audiences alike. Some saw it as the finest achievement to date of colour photography in Britain whilst others viewed it as an aberration . With the benefit of hindsight there is little doubt that it transformed documentary photography in Britain and placed Parr amongst the world s leading photographers. The book is now recognised as a classic and is highly sought by collectors worldwide. Steering a perilous course between objectivity and voyeurism, Parr viewed the decaying holiday resort of New Brighton and its holidaymakers in a way that was new, unique and deeply disturbing. And he did so in colour, something which at the time was seen as revolutionary for documentary work. For some his camera seemed cold and cruel as it followed the working classes desperately pursuing their holiday dreams surrounded by dereliction and decay and wading through the apparently endless detritus of a pollution-ridden consumer society. Others felt it showed an affectionate, humorous and humanistic response from Parr. However it was viewed, it was undoubtedly a sharp, bitter satire of the Britain of the Thatcher years.
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About the Author
Martin Parr is a member of the prestigious MAGNUM photo agency. Internationally recognised as a brilliant satirist of contemporary life he has led the development of British documentary photography with wit, style, and intelligence in a career that boasts numerous publications and exhibitions. His work is in major galleries and museums worldwide. In a new essay Gerry Badger re-examines the work and its impact on British Photography. Recognised as a leading writer on photography, as well as a photographer and a curator, Gerry Badger was co-author, with Martin Parr, of the two volume 'The Photobook: A History'.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By I Simonius
Format:Hardcover
When this first came out it seemed to me to be just another edition of Martin's documentary style of photography that I found slightly crude, perhaps cheap, and certainly bilious in its colours. I'll state upfront that I disliked Martin Parr's images from the word go when I first saw one of his first exhibitions, well before he became famous.
Perhaps it is the sheer ubiquity of his work in general and this book in particular that has steered me into being more accepting his work but I am beginning to incline toward the historical position of this book's images in these interesting times as the crowbar that has opened the door of meaning and of value of them, for me.
This book just goes to show how little I knew back then I suppose, as over time I have come to actually appreciate the quality and value of his documentary style, though I still find his colours bilious; and so, now, reluctantly, I feel obliged to concede this book's rightful place as one of the more important documentary essays of our times.
Perhaps it is the sheer ubiquity of his work in general and this book in particular that has steered me into being more accepting his work but I am beginning to incline toward the historical position of this book's images in these interesting times as the crowbar that has opened the door of meaning and of value of them, for me.
This book just goes to show how little I knew back then I suppose, as over time I have come to actually appreciate the quality and value of his documentary style, though I still find his colours bilious; and so, now, reluctantly, I feel obliged to concede this book's rightful place as one of the more important documentary essays of our times.
7 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Garth Algar
Format:Hardcover
The Last Resort (great title) is an amazing collection of photographs.
Apart from being visually stunning, they provide a fascinating window on a very specific time and place - New Brighton, a working class seaside resort in northern England in the mid 80s - not so very far away but a different world from the budget airline, foreign holiday generation of today. A time when bucket and spade holidays were still the norm, but seem to have lost any sense of excitement or genuine enjoyment.
I'm not sure how the viewer (with their nice expensive glossy coffee-table photography book) is expected to react to photos of things like children playing in litter-strewn water or people sunbathing in the shelter of rusty machinery in an industrial landscape. There is humour in the photos, but also a whiff of snobbery. I get the feeling the Parr may sometimes be laughing at, rather than with, the subjects, but it is a brilliant book of incredibly atmospheric photos nonetheless.
Apart from being visually stunning, they provide a fascinating window on a very specific time and place - New Brighton, a working class seaside resort in northern England in the mid 80s - not so very far away but a different world from the budget airline, foreign holiday generation of today. A time when bucket and spade holidays were still the norm, but seem to have lost any sense of excitement or genuine enjoyment.
I'm not sure how the viewer (with their nice expensive glossy coffee-table photography book) is expected to react to photos of things like children playing in litter-strewn water or people sunbathing in the shelter of rusty machinery in an industrial landscape. There is humour in the photos, but also a whiff of snobbery. I get the feeling the Parr may sometimes be laughing at, rather than with, the subjects, but it is a brilliant book of incredibly atmospheric photos nonetheless.
8 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By H. de Groot
Format:Hardcover
Leisure is no laughing matter, as photographer Martin Parr proves in this terrific book on visitors of Brighton. Their splendid desolation shines through in every shot: the older couple waiting in a restaurant, the annoyed waitress in an icebar and most haunting, the toddler embracing a fruit machine in a casino full of bored women. Unsparing as it is, Parr's eye on humanity is not without feeling and brings to mind the work of William Eggleston.
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