Martin Parr: Common Sense
A small child's hands, dirt well packed under nails are grasping a massive half eaten doughnut. Plastic meals, sunbathers in blue, toy guns in cake, the back of heads, mannequins, dogs, sex toys and stuffed animals all photographed in such a way as to force a startling intimacy, unsettling, often darkly humorous, and always thought provoking. Common Sense pointedly brings us to the edge of pleasure and discomfort. Individuality is devalued and all things consumable become the signs of our collective identity. These photographs are vibrant, inquisitive and garish. Common Sense is a sweet and sour approach to the realities of global homogeneity and mindless consumerism.For British photographer Martin Parr, life is appealingly ordinary in countless extraordinary ways. Daiter Contemporary is pleased to bring to Chicago Parr's most celebrated project to date. Begun in the mid 1990's Common Sense has received popular and critical international acclaim while making a contribution to the dialogue on the cultural impact of globalization and consumerism. For much of his career Parr has focused his cameras on the minutiae of our lives. Prior to Common Sense, Parr's approach to his subjects maintained a moderate level of politeness and distance. Over the thirty years since Parr began his studies at Manchester Polytechnic his voice has become increasingly satiric and ironic. In this work that voice is witty, biting, and rich. The psychological depth of this project is in contrast to the closeness of Parr's camera to his subject.
http://www.stephendaitergallery.com/dynamic/exhibit_display.asp?ArtistID=39&ExhibitID=4
