“Martin Parr has dedicated an entire body of work to painting all the seasonal migrations of people with dabbing brush strokes which can be likened to the regular and consistent path of migratory birds when warm weather comes. Choosing vacations by the beach is understandable in that it focuses on good times, the sun, the sea and the beach which crashes into the somewhat sleazy reality of crowds, noise and filth.
If he turns to the funny side of the situation by suggesting that the oversized plastic swan in the foreground is part of the beachgoer’s fun or that the lollypop has taken the place of the volleyball, he makes use of physical comedy when it is the ice cream being eaten and dripping down their faces which makes two children who can’t stop smiling happy, setting them in the classic pose of a vacation photo. And of course, completing the...story we find the same ice cream cone, which is giant this time, set as the ultimate dream of happiness, becoming a statue at Weymouth beach. Furthermore, comedy of manners or comedy of character are the devices which he uses to paint a picture of specific «types», such as the “movie star” in white-framed glasses or the smoking lady with brightly painted nails, revealing her junky jewelry on arms which already show their age, and we find ourselves asking if both of them still dream of being in a Miss something or other pageant.
Yet, if he wants to make us smile or even laugh, Martin Parr is in no way gratuitously cruel, only the events, situations, connected ideas or characters, and especially this little grain of sand which slips into the story, this discrepancy between imagined happiness and a much more dull reality tips the balance of the picture into absurdity. That’s how the young boy’s day of swimming at the beach, what he had been dreaming about all summer long, is polluted by trash collecting on the beach. Is the sunbather’s sun tanning threatened by this out of place tractor which seems as if it wants to crush her and are the blue protective tanning booth goggles still out of place on a beach...
And to back up his statement the artist masterfully manipulates his color palette which is often intense, sometimes too vivid and even unlikely when he uses his flash in aytime. It makes meaningless detail almost grandiose and focuses our attention on the little nothings of daily life.”
Agnès de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, from the exhibition catalogue’s preface
Entrada actualizada el el 03 dic de 2015
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