How was 2013 for Martin Parr?
The Magnum photographer on a 'turkey and tinsel' holiday trip and the 'beauty and craziness' of the Amalfi coast
As the year draws to a close we've caught up with a few of our authors and artists, among them Ferran Adrià, Roger Ballen and Bernhard Edmaier, to ask them how 2013 was for them: what were the things that inspired them, when were they at their most creative and what do they have planned for 2014. We'll be bringing you their answers - one a day - up until the new year. Go here to read our interview with Joel Meyerowitz and here for Edmund de Waal.
Today it's the turn of Martin Parr. The English Magnum photographer has had a good year, with shows at The Liverpool Festival and Paris Photo, and The Design Museum Zurich as well as trips to India, Italy and Nigeria. Still, he continues to draw inspiration from ordinary life in parochial Britain, as his on-going Black Country project attests. Read on to learn about how he's been inspired by Italian beaches, filmed Christmas holidays in Somerset, and continued his important Photobook history for Phaidon.
What was the thing that inspired you most this year?
Discovering the joys and beauty and craziness of Italy's Amalfi coast in August.
What was your personal working highlight this year?
Making a film about a Christmas 'Turkey and Tinsel' holiday trips from the Black Country to a hotel in Weston-super-Mare. It was a delicious and insane week!
What can we expect from you in 2014?
I am going to update my retrospective book, complete Vol III of The Photobook: A History, put my The Black Country work on show in Walsall next October, and I've also got a show on Paris at Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP) coming up too.
Keen to see more? Then browse Martin's Photobook history, put together with Gerry Badger, as well as his other books and prints. You can buy them from the people who made them, here.