The photo that changed my life
ITALY. Rome. Colosseum. Statues and tourists at the Colosseum. 1993. © Martin Parr/Magnum Photos
I like to imagine that in every artist's life there's a piece of art, in their medium, that they just CONNECT with and it sets them on their journey to become who they are as an artist. I'm certain this is not the case for every artist and it's probably a total oversimplification bordering on an idealistic way at looking at the world, but I guess that's just how my brain works #sorrynotsorry.
I delight in wondering what was the album (or song) that made Thom Yorke want to pursue music. What was the film that made Tarantino want to make movies, what was the painting that made Warhol want to pick up the brush? Would there be satisfying answer for each? I'm certain Tarantino has the film as his work is very referential and he often speaks of how he is paying homage with specific shots, scenes, etc. and he's also very open about his love for cinema so for him I think it's just my laziness that's stopping me from knowing that specific answer(1) but I have no idea if Thom Yorke would have an album that inspired him to become a musician because he seems like he could have just as easily been inspired by an obscure work of art that has nothing to do with music, or a process such as photosynthesis, or even something along the lines of "the overwhelming helplessness associated with people's unconscious and relenting desire to ensure suffering perpetuates." For the record those are not actual Thom Yorke references or inspirations, it's just crude interpretations of things that I could imagine him being inspired by as an artist.
Humourous aside: How funny would it be if I had a chance to ask Thom and he dead ass answered "Whitesnake - Here I go again. Hands down. Brilliant."
<waves of laughter>
Oh we do have fun!
I do get I can be kind of a snob at times (2) when it comes to art and entertainment or anything really but having that awareness of myself and my snobbery doesn't take away from my belief that —at least in my mind —artists like Andy Warhol or Thom Yorke would have to be inspired by something much deeper than something akin to a Whitesnake song, as popular as it might have been (3) and I'm just curious as to what that might have been for them.
For me, I have grown to see myself become a sponge, soaking up my favorite traits, mannerisms, and ways of thinking and doing from everyone who came before me in virtually every aspect of life. I first noticed this with artists who work in mediums that I have practiced in, but eventually learned about the crossover (4) and now basically I take from anyone and everyone. I'm inspired by all kinds of people; musicians, comedians, philosophers, poets, writers, painters, animators, filmmakers, chefs, parents, teachers, scientists, naturalists, conservationists, activists, public servants. I could keep going... health care providers, entrepreneurs, inventors, athletes, philanthropists, care givers, etc. I am inspired by so many different kinds of folks because I subscribe to the personal philosophy of "Always be learning" and I believe that anyone can be a teacher as long as you (me) are always willing to learn. As a practicing life artist and I’ll take valuable lessons from just about anyone, BUUUUUUUT if me/my work had to be distilled down to just one medium right now that'd have to be photography (5)(6)(7). And fortunately, with respect to photography I do have THE picture that… well,,, changed my life really, and I am incredibly thankful for my photography professor and friend Amy Caterina, for first sharing it with me.
The photo I'm thinking of is the Martin Parr photograph shown above (and also found on Page 12 of Mr. Parr’s book Small World) and I’m gonna talk about it for a bit. The photo is a colour photo and filling out most of the frame in the center of the photo shown in soft focus (but not too soft) is a group of around 30-40 retirement aged tourists gazing up at something. Behind them and to the sides you can see some of the ancient architecture that has been preserved around the Colosseum, giving some sense of the place —also in soft focus. Lastly, in the foreground, shown in the bottom of the frame there are a couple dozen souvenir statues of Roman gods and goddesses, Michelangelo's David, etc. in sharp focus giving a humorous juxtaposition against the silver-haired group that stands behind them. That's the basic reading of this photo "oh what a funny comparison, the statue of David, compared to David Longbottom the retired plumber from Liverpool. What a laugh!" and to anyone's credit who sees that interpretation, good on you because I've also seen people miss it completely and it's quite embarrassing. "So it's like a tour group or something???" It's sad really but not surprising that our society isn't taught to critically think or even look, let alone study art. Either that or we’ve grown so accustomed to our fast-paced lifestyles that we don’t allow ourselves the time to make meaningful connections when we’re seeing art. Realistically probably a bit of both. We’re dumb in a hurry! We want stuff to be explained to us so we don't have to think about it. We want shit jammed down our throats while people (also without taste) assure us it’s good. Our consumption of art is basically at crisis level: Jello-shot. It's how this picture came to exist in the first place (8) but I digress...
When I first saw the photo, I immediately got the juxtaposition and the comedian in me (9) really appreciated it because photography, or should I say good photography was still very new to me at the time when I first saw this photo. So seeing humour in a photo was a revelation. Beyond that I saw that there was still more meat on the bone. In fact, I felt it. I saw people as we are, compared to our own idealistic versions of ourselves. We like to imagine ourselves as these fit, godlike, beings, mastering the universe but the reality is we are doughy, prisoners to our own stupidity and greed. Not allowed to thrive when we are in our primes because we have manufactured ourselves to be slaves to capitalism. We are supposed to be exploring, engaging, and experiencing the natural world as we are in our physical peaks like those figures in the statues, yet most working-class folks do not get to have an opportunity to do anything remotely close until they reach the age of 65 if they’re lucky.
I'd never seen anything like this in a photograph —and I’d seen some real as the kids say “bangers” too, but I’d never seen something like a societal critique so damningly portrayed in a single frame like that. A photo that has a meaningful message that doesn't trigger a trauma reaction -AAAAND it's humourous. I didn't know photography could do those things, so short of listening to "The Power of Now" seeing this photo for the first time might have been the most liberating experience of my entire life.
For me this photo was a call to action. The wakeup call I needed. The cautionary tale. I could follow my dreams, become the photographer behind the lens, and see the world NOW; or I could continue on the path I was on as a CPA, gaming the system doing taxes for the rich and become one of the faceless people in photo. Trapped working against my own interests until I'm too old to do anything outside the supervision of a tour guide, unaware of the potential that I'd let slip between my fingers like the grains of the hour glass. Fortunately, I have answered the call and have decided to "Get busy living, or get busy dying." (10)
At this point in my career I'm what's commonly referred to as "poor as fuck,” (11) I'm virtually unknown, BUT I'm also the happiest I've ever been. It's the first time in my life that I can honestly say I'm living with any kind of intention. This is in contrast to the past when I'd always felt like my life was on some kind of autopilot. My life now feels like a new level of vibrance (12) and it's a feeling that I don't know I'd ever felt before. Maybe as a kid but even then, I'm not sure. It's a lightness, like I'm on shrooms constantly (13). It's crazy. And to think for me that all started with seeing THIS one photo.
Again major thanks to Amy Caterina for giving me the red pill and showing me this photo #YouMyMorpheus, and of course to Mr. Parr if he were ever to see this: my abilities both with the pen and behind the lens are far too inadequate to fully articulate how much this photo/your work has meant to me but I am hopeful that this post is a start to me expressing that gratitude and it is my greatest hope that one day my work can inspire a generation behind me in the way that yours has (and still does) for me. Thank you.
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(1) Although if I'm being honest I sometimes like not knowing. You can find this in some of my work even. Not knowing makes for better mental stimulation. It's why I like Radiohead.
(2) This on account of I'm a GIIIINORMOUS snob.
(3) Whitesnake's "Here I go again" reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 list at its peak position in 1987 and was #7 on the year-end chart for 1987.
(4) I’ve found that it is important for me as an artist to seek out and really take in work outside of photography. It can be just as important as being immersed in photography itself.
(5) Something about me and photography just "clicked."
(6) When I was given the opportunity to follow my dreams and become a photographer I knew I had to give it a "shot."
(7) Honestly, I couldn't "picture" doing anything else with my life.
(8) Our inability to think for ourselves is exactly why tour groups exist. We travel in ways where we want to be shepherded around and shown what to look at and told what to enjoy and since the creation of Mr. Parr’s book, Small Wonder, mindless tourism/consumerism has only gotten worse.
(9) I'm sure you tell from my hilarious writing that I've bombed multiple hundreds of times on stage as an open mic comedian. I think it shows. It shows right? Hello?!
(10) Those of you cinephiles who love the talkies as much as I do will know the quote.
(11) This is mostly for humourous effect I'm ok.
(12) I’m talking +15 levels of vibrance here, people!
(13) I mean this in the best way.
Some of my more Martin Parr-ish photos:
