Cultural Life: Martin Parr, photographer

Interview,Rozzy Unwin
Thursday 30 June 2011 19:00 EDT
Comments
(EPA)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Theatre: August is my main theatre-going time, as I see around seven or eight plays during the Edinburgh Fringe, usually at the Traverse, which are consistently of a high standard. This winter I saw 'Fela!' at the National, and the guy playing Fela himself – Sahr Ngaujah – was very impressive.

Film: I saw Werner Herzog's 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams' the other day, which was the first time I had seen a film in 3D, which was quite a new experience. Herzog is incredible: how he goes from one subject to the next, and his obsessive approach, normally pay off. I also saw 'Submarine', which people either love or hate. I came down on the side of favourable, as I felt the setting and feel were very effective.

Television: I am away so much, so I rarely see live TV, but I use iPlayer to catch programmes. I just enjoyed the Stewart Lee series – he is the thinking man's comedian. Also Andrew Marr's 'Megacities' – I know all the cities he is filming in, and the new slants he finds on them are very engaging. My biggest television weakness is 'Dragons' Den'.

Music: I am not a huge follower of music, and tend to like one CD and play it to death, usually when I am washing up. The current disc is 'xx' by The xx – of course I had never heard of them, but our daughter bought it for me for Christmas, and it's still on the playlist.

Books: My big obsession is photobooks, and because of this interest, a book arrives nearly every day. 'Happy Birthday to You' by Anouk Kruithof really stands out. This Dutch photographer arranged a project in an old peoples' home, to make a birthday cake with patients that depicted a wish for their birthday.

Martin Parr will appear at the Port Eliot Festival, St Germans, Cornwall ( www.porteliotfestival.com) 21 to 24 July

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in