Parrlife

Or: Dispatches #03

Jun 14, 2023

The last 10 days have been busy. Stretching back through photographing the Polish Corpus Christi celebrations on Thursday to the previous Sunday, June 4th and following the half-million-person march in support of democracy on the streets of Warsaw.

The concept of democracy itself hangs on a shaky peg here in Poland with the authoritarian, right-wing PiS government taking further extremes to curb opposition before the elections coming in Autumn. In April, former Prime Minister, Donald Tusk invited people from all across Poland to join him on the streets of Warsaw on June 4th, the 34th anniversary of the election that effectively ended the communist rule of the country. Originally a march in support of democracy in the country, it became a protest against the new legislation referred to as Lex Tusk.

And what an experience it was. Fierce, determined, and celebratory in defiance, people of all ages from all over the country marched together, and one would expect as the elections draw nearer, there will be further protests to make voices heard.

Alright, time for some news. Let's get started...

What's been happening this month

Martin Parr's photograph of a man swimming in the Gourock outdoor pool in Gourock, Scotland graces the cover of Blur's forthcoming album, The Ballad of Darren, however, it is the limited edition of the vinyl that has to be seen to be believed.

While on the subject of eye-popping things, we have the trailer, and the poster, for Yorgos Lanthimos' upcoming take on the Alasdair Gray novel, Poor Things. It looks delightfully demented.

Hundreds of thousands of images taken by deep-sea mapping company Magellan have been scanned and mapped to show the wreck in remarkable detail.

The best music venue in the UK is named the best music venue in the UK.

And finally, are there any photographers in LA that aren't suing Ye West?

Photographer

Dipping into the loose school of New York photographers - the influential co-operative known as the Photo League - for this month's photographer, we find the exceptional Lisette Model. An Austrian by birth, she emigrated to America prior to the outbreak of the second world war. Enthralled by the energy of New York, Model's street photography is dynamic, kinetic, and frequently steps away from traditional views of the city. In later life, Model became a prolific and sought-after teacher and after the war, she moved to California to teach in San Francisco. On return to New York, she began to teach privately and among many others, her best-known pupil was Diane Arbus.

Music

Since first discovering Darren Aronofsky's debut feature film, Pi, and the Clint Mansell-scored soundtrack, I've always enjoyed the two working together, possibly no more so than on the 2006 epic, The Fountain. For this, Mansell returns to the collaboration he had shared with the Kronos Quartet on the Requiem for a Dream score, however, this time added Mogwai to the mix. Over the last month, I've returned to the soundtrack album, on Nonesuch Records, frequently while writing assignments for school. The climax of the film, Death is the Road to Awe, is a particular stand-out.

(Some more) Music

It's no great surprise to many that I'm a huge Beatles fan - the Abbey Road tattoo on my left forearm tends to be a bit of a giveaway. As a guitar player, I would learn to play the Beatles songs as authentically and accurately as possible, searching for videos of George performing and getting the notes and chords down right. One that would often stump me was the famous, elusive intro chord to the title track of the Hard Day's Night album. Everyone has their own opinion of how it was played, across the band. Then, I discovered Randy Bachman's well-worn story of meeting Giles Martin and hearing the master tapes. No matter how often I listen to this, I glow with joy. So, if you're a Beatles fan, and haven't heard this short clip... enjoy.

Book

As noted above, Yorgos Lanthimos’ next film is based on Alasdair Gray's novel, Poor Things. With a story that echoes Mary Shelley's Frankenstein though in Gray's very particular, darkly funny way, I'm excited to see how the film interprets the book. For those who haven't read the novel, the Alasdair Gray Archive is starting a book club with a read-along of Poor Things beginning on June 25th. I'm going to join the read-along, particularly as I imagine the online discussions will open up a lot of interesting new perspectives. I hope a few of you might join.

Something Else

I try not to bring too much football along to this newsletter, despite me being both a die-hard Airdrieonians and a Newcastle United fan. This season though has been a successful one for both clubs and while not so much a recommendation, I did want to mention how delighted I am that The Diamonds were promoted to the Scottish Championship, and The Magpies will be playing Champions League football next season. That said, I recommend you watch this young Partick Thistle fan visiting the second leg of the Play-off semi-final between Airdrie and Hamilton Accies for a taste of the day Airdrie were promoted. Next season's going to be a cracker for both clubs.

And finally…

Look out for Issue 8 of Photos, mostly coming on 28th June.

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This newsletter is free to read, however, I've recently left corporate life and returned to school, so if you like what I do, you could always toss me a roll of film. You can do so by clicking here, or by aiming your camera at the QR code below.