Martin Parr

Martin Parr is a photojournalist, British documentary photographer and photobook collector. He was born on May 23, 1952. Martin is well known for his well known photographic projects which have been called "intimate, satirical and anthropological", these words have been used because this is the way they say he 'looks at aspects of modern life, in particular documenting the social classes of England, and more broadly the wealth of the Western world.'

Martin has featured in about 80 exhibitions around the world and has published around 40 books by himself. Martin was also part of photographic cooperative called Magnum Photos.


Martin's Parr's photos:









Martin said,"The fundamental thing I'm exploring constantly is the difference between the mythology of the place and the reality of it. Remember I make serious photographs disguised as entertainment. That's part of my mantra. I make the pictures acceptable in order to find the audience but deep down there is actually a lot going on that's not sharply written in your face. If you want to read it you can read it"about his photography.

Martin is said to have a close-up aesthetic about his work and this is achieved by using a micro lens and 'employing saturated colour', this creates an effect which can only be achieved by the type of film used and/or using a ring flash.  This way Martin is able to capture people and/or food within their ow environment and within their natural forms, this gives them the space to expose and explore  in ways that often involve 'inadvertent humour', because of this his work has become very well known and famous.

Antoni Gaudi

Antoni Gaudi was born 25th June 1852 and died 10th June 1926. He was a Spanish Catalan architect from Reus and the best known practitioner of Catalan Modernism. Gaudi was most influenced by the passions he held including architecture, nature, and religion. He integrated crafts such as ceramics, stained glass, wrought ironwork forging and carpentry. He also found new techniques such as trencadis which used waste ceramic pieces. Gaudi's work transcended mainstream Modernisme, using and organic style, inspired by nature. He preferred to create three dimensional scale models of his works, continuously molding details into them.

I really like Gaudi's style of architecture and sculpture because of the imperfect organic feel it has. Instead of creating perfect forms of symmetry, he looked at nature to create unique, pieces of art and architecture. I have noticed that Gaudi's creations often incorporate a flowing aspect to them, giving the effect of moving fluidity to each of his works. I really like this changeability because it makes his architecture blend in well with the natural landscape, instead of generic rectangular buildings which stand out. This makes his work seem more organic and integrates it into the period he lived in.

I would really like to incorporate these aspects into my own work to make it appear to have its own movement. I can do this in my final piece by using flowing lines in the handrails of the building. I believe this will aid my work in making it one of a kind by using the surreal element of fluidity.

Michael Craig-Martin

Michael Craig-Martin is a contemporary conceptual artist and painter was born on August 28, 1941. He is well known for his conceptual artwork. He is also a Emeritus
Professor of Fine Art at Goldsmiths. 

Micheal grew up in Dublin where he was born and during his early years of life, he grew up with a religious education in a Roman Catholic school run by nuns. One of the priests in the school was an artist and this is where Michael gained an interest in art.

Examples of Michael's works:




Martin began to make line drawings of ordinary objects in the early 70's, creating over the years an expanding array of images which form the foundation of his work to this day. The focus of his work  eventually shifted to painting after the 1990's, but followed his previous style using boldly outlined motifs, featuring vivid colour schemes. He applied this style to his works on canvas as well as complex wall painting installations. This bold style gives a pop art inspired style which fits well with the period before and after the 90's.

I like Martin's work because of its simple two dimensional style using bright colours and bold lines. I have realised that he often uses colour theory in his paintings by using warm colours such as red and yellow in the foreground and cold colours such as blue and purple in the background to give a sense of dimension in his flattened drawing style. I really like the busy composition of his work because it includes many found objects from everyday life such as books, buckets and light-bulbs. One of the unique aspects of Michael's work is his surreal use of perspective and proportion, bringing an unrealistic, electric feel to his work.

After studying Martin's work I have been inspired to create my own compositions, using his style and techniques. I would like to develop my own style by  adjusting my use of colour, perspective and proportion in my own work. I would like to try using vivid colours using primary, secondary and tertiary colours as a base. 

Jennifer McCurdy

Jennifer McCurdy was born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1955.  She became interested in pottery because her grandmothers vast collection of unusual vases. She specialises in porcelain and uses it to create functional objects such as mugs, mixing bowls and wall pieces.








Examples of McCurdy's work:





The main inspiration for McCurdy's work derives from the perfect nature that surrounds her in everyday life. For example many of her pieces incorporate perfectly asymmetrical spirals as inspired from the cracked conch shells on the beach. Her use of translucent porcelain creates a beautiful surface on the body of her work, conveying the picturesque nature of light and shadow. This gives her work a sense of wavering movement through the spectrum of light.

I love the style of McCurdy's work because of its organic style and intricate attention to detail. It has shown me that ordered symmetry and asymmetry can be assembled to depict natural forms in our environment revealing not only the beautiful essence captured in her work, but also the growth and movement of life. I really like how she portrays this movement through the carvings she makes adding a balance of energy in each work of pottery. This shows how she values the importance of the balance in nature, creating a bond between herself and the environment she lives in.

I would like to create some work inspired by her because I like the reasons behind each method she encompasses in her work. I have been inspired to follow her thought processes in looking closer at the environment produce work that is as complex like the world around me.