The work of Martin Parr (b. 1952) bridges the divide between art and documentary photography. His studies of the idiosyncrasies of mass culture and consumerism around the world, his innovative imagery and his prolific output have placed him firmly at the forefront of contemporary art. He has also made a number of influential photobooks on his work, including The Last Resort (1986), Think of England (2000)and Boring Postcards (2000) and is himself an avid collector of books and a world authority on the photobook, co-authoring The Photobook: A History Volume I and Volume II with Gerry Badger in 2004 and 2006. He has been the subject of numerous exhibitions including a major travelling retrospective that originated at the Barbican Art Gallery in London in 2002, with an accompanying catalogue by Val Williams (Phaidon Press, 2002). An active member of the Magnum photographic agency since 1994, Parr has also worked in fashion and commercial photography, and film-making.
Sandra S. Phillips is senior curator of photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. A photographic historian and former curator of the Vassar Art Gallery in Poughkeepsie, New York, she has been responsible for many major exhibitions including ‘William Klein New York 1954–55’ (1995) and ‘Police Pictures: The Photograph as Evidence’ (1997). She organized the first survey of the world of the important postwar Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama in 1999, presented the first complete showing of the photographs, prints and writings of Diane Arbus in 2003 and curated ‘Mexico as Muse: Edward Weston and Tina Modotti’ in 2006, to considerable acclaim. A prolific author, her books include numerous exhibition catalogues, and her articles and essays have appeared regularly in books and journals. She has also taught the history of photography throughout her career and has lectured extensively in institutions ranging from San Francisco State University to Musashino Art Uni.