Martin Parr: Common Sense [£75.00]
Martin Parr’s full-page, hyper-intensely coloured close up shots of food, flesh, and fashion. From the publisher: “For several years, Martin Parr has garnered huge, popular attention from the European public for his brilliant abilities as a satirist of contemporary life. His highly influential series of unsparing portraits depicting English working class life in the 1980s gave rise to the popular British documentary style as seen in younger photo stars such as Richard Billingham and Nick Waplington. Now with Common Sense, Parr reinvents the genre. Parr’s exquisite sense of irony and humour shine through in lurid and luscious colour photos that capture the essence of a consumer culture at the end of the millennium. His juxtapositions of everyday sights such as poodles and old-lady hairdos, or sticky Valentine’s Day cupcakes and a close-up of two lover’s hands invite us to revel in their absurdity as they burn us with their biting wit.” – – – – – – – – – First edition 1999 hard back with pictorial covers in fine condition with very few signs of use. Signed “Martin Parr” in black ink on the bubble-gum image on the first page. (382-383 of The Hasselblad Center’s “The Open Book” and page 35 of “From Fair to Fine 3”).