There is currently a David Hurn (1934-) Photography Exhibit at the National Museum Cardiff and I had the pleasure of going to see it. What struck me about the collection was that it was mostly shots of ordinary people doing ordinary things. What I experienced at first was a celebration of the working-classes of Britain in the 20th century. However, this idea of the ‘mundane’ was subtly interrupted by shots of disaster zones, reminding us of the inequalities between the Global North and the Global South, that the term ‘ordinary’ can be contested depending on its context. I guess for the disaster zones, their ‘ordinary’ days were filled with destruction and conflict, sharply contrasted by the photograph next to it of a Young girl full of joy after having had her Confirmation service. (see below)
Photo from National Museum Cardiff
Martin Parr
Although the curation consists mostly of Hurn’s iconic photographs from the 1950s onwards, there are inserts of other famous British photographers’ pieces that kept along the same theme of ‘ordinary’ life. One photograph in particular that I enjoyed was named A Girls Friday night out on the town, Bristol by Martin Parr (1952-).
Photo taken from Kamel Mennour
Parr is an English photographer who has published over 120 books of his own work (Martinparr.com) and set up the Martin Parr Foundation in 2017, which supports “emerging, established and overlooked photographers who have made and continue to make work focussed on Britain and Ireland” (Martin Parr Foundation).
A Girls Friday Night out on the Town, 2009
Now, in terms of the photograph, it may seem like just a snapshot of drunk women outside a club, but there is a lot more to it.
The photograph is so dynamic, it almost feels like the women are moving as we look at it, they aren’t perfectly still, mostly shown through strands of their hair not being entirely in focus. Yet, they are the centre of the photograph, thanks to Parr’s use of a ring flash, removing shadows, meaning it helps to ‘objetify’ his subjects (Bayley, 2016).
The picture also feels frozen in time, it brings about a sense of nostalgia, with the side fringes, the eyeliner, the big hoops, the thin eyebrows. When I look at this photo, I know exactly what the time period is without being told. This is the late 2000s.
Mockery or Celebration?
One could argue that this shot could be a satirical one, to exhibit a picture of drunk people on the streets of Bristol, trying to find a lighter, maybe waiting for a taxi to take them home. But I personally don’t see a mocking gaze from the photographer in this shot. It is a shot of joy, of laughter, a carefree night. If it were a mockery, I think the photographer would have chosen a less flattering angle, or chosen to photograph people who weren’t having a great night (which often happens).
Culture is Ordinary
Parr has been criticised for portraying Britain as a “hopeless and depressing” place (Bayley, 2016), and one could look at this photo, roll their eyes and think of the binge-drinking problem we have in Britain. I can see how one could think that. Nonetheless, the expressions on the faces of the subjects make it feel like a celebration of the lively streets of Bristol, of the nightlife in Britain, the joy and escapism of a typical ‘night out on the town’ in the UK. This is an activity that many ordinary young people enjoy on a regular basis. Parr has chosen to photograph ordinary people as he ‘like[s] ordinary people’ (Parr, 2016).
We can’t know from the photograph whether these women are working-class or in fact middle-class. But I argue that the choice to photograph people ‘out on the town’ and enjoying themselves is enough to argue that this photograph and the rest of Parr’s work is a resistance to the rules of the Western Art World that is known for its elitism. This is part of a wider movement in photography in the last 150 years to celebrate and document the lives of the working-classes (Price, 1983).
This is real life being documented. People in Britain do go out and get drunk, not everyone of course but a lot of us do and I don’t think it is always something to be ashamed of (excluding alcohol-related crime). Especially considering this photograph is clearly showing us a joyful, happy night out. Referring back to Raymond Williams, ‘culture is ordinary’ and depictions of ordinary people should be celebrated and not looked down on.
Bibliography
Bayley, S. 2016. ‘Is Martin Parr a snob ? Over lunch at St John , I asked him’ Spectator 26 February, pp. 1–4. Available at: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/you-ve-been-framed [Accessed 03/03/2022]
Price, D. 1983. ‘PHOTOGRAPHING THE POOR AND THE WORKING CLASSES’, Framework, 22–23(22/23), pp. 20–25.
Martinparr.com. No date. Martin Parr CV. Available at https://www.martinparr.com/cv/#:~:text=Martin%20Parr%20was%20born%20in,Polytechnic%2C%20from%201970%20to%201973. [Accessed 03/03/2022].
Martin Parr Foundation. No date. David Hurn Biography. Available at: https://www.martinparrfoundation.org/davidhurn/david-hurn-biography/ [Accessed 03/03/2022].
Martin Parr Foundation. No date. Martin Parr Foundation Homepage. Available: https://www.martinparrfoundation.org/ [Accessed 03/03/2022].
Williams, R. 1963. Culture and society, 1780-1950. Harmondsworth, Penguin.
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