Boring Postcards, Martin Parr’s postcard archives
A Video Book Review© by VanGerven|VanRijnberk
about a compilation of Martin Parr’s amazing collection of (mostly architectural) postcards from 1950 to 1970. We just love Martin, who has made this enchanting book: a daring and dull collection of well behaved postcards from the edge of common sense. Look carefully and you will see that the postcards are filled with fascinating little details. Grouped in a publication, they offer readers the interesting opportunity to puzzle over the collective psyche of the people of the 1950s and 60s, people who were inclined to create, buy and send these cards.
This book is absolutely funny
and very interesting. Boring postcards let us have a peek at the ’50s – ’70s, when road-building and fast development looked like signs of a healthy future. Individually, the cards are a pretty kitsch; collectively, they re-create not only the appearance but the spirit and soul of a time that vanished forever somewhere around the 1970s. Martin Parr’s collection of old postcards are divided into three volumes featuring post-war Britain, USA and Germany. Parr’s ‘boring postcards’ give meaning to a wistful phrase about a time that really was for better or worse, pleased with itself. Look back and lament.
Martin Parr (1952)
is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in particular documenting the social classes of England, and more broadly the wealth of the Western world. We greatly admire Martin Parr’s work. He is a chronicler of our age. In the face of the constantly growing flood of images released by the media, his photographs offer us the opportunity to see the world from his unique perspective.
Video Book Review © by VanGerven|VanRijnberk
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