Boring Postcards [Paperback]

Martin Parr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2004

160 boring postcards of the British Isles, reproduced as they have been found, actual size, from the collection of the great iconoclast of British photography, Martin Parr. This is a serious art book, a depiction of a tragic Britain with tragic taste, and a photographic entertainment which a large audience will enjoy. 160 postcards are reproduced as they have been found, in their actual size, with all the character of their original reproduction, amateur retouching, crinkly edges and bent corners. Treated as art objects with a classic white border surround, each are captioned with their original description as printed on the front or the reverse - for example: 'T&G,W,U Recuperation Centre, Littleport'; 'View from the Berry Court Holiday Flatlets, Brixham, South Devon'; 'A40 Traffic'; 'The M1 Service Area at Newport Pagnall'; 'Market Precinct, Scunthorpe'; 'A Bend on Porlock Hill' etc. All the postcards featured will depict places in the British Isles; most stem from a period of optimism in Britain as new civic centres, motorways, airports, and power stations were built and launched; souvenirs of 60s and 70s achievements we now question. For a postcard to qualify as sufficiently 'boring', either its composition, or its content, or the characters featured, must be arguably boring; or the photograph must be absent of anything which might conventionally be described as interesting. Of course the postcards finally are not boring at all, but powerful, interesting and loaded statements about time and place and the aesthetic of Britain.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As the title of this little book suggests, each of the postcards that fill its pages is, in a sense, quite boring. Stale, often dully composed images of corporate headquarters, roadways, bus-station parking lots, convalescent-home dayrooms, hospital cafeterias, and undistinguished motels. But look carefully, and the cards--culled from the collection of artist Martin Parr--are filled with fascinating little details. As a group, they offer readers the interesting opportunity to puzzle over the collective psyche of the people of the 1950s and '60s (the approximate vintage of the images) who were inclined to create, buy, and send these cards. What, one can't help but wonder, could be so scintillating about a room at the Fortes Excelsior Motor Lodge near Pontefract, Yorkshire? The singular force of the orange bedspreads, carpet, drapes, and walls punctuated by the inexplicably white leather upholstered panel attached to the wall unit behind each of the room's beds. The exterior of the Mirfield Modern School, shot at a distance and unimaginatively placed dead in the center of the gray sky and green playing field? The building's Bauhaus-like lines. The tarmac of Luton Airport in London? The pink jumbo jet being towed into the frame from the left. The uniformly shaped trailers parked at the Freshwater Caravan Camp? The handwritten X that presumably marks the sender's location. The Chalets at Llandanwg? Arguably, not much. The few hundred images here, unfettered by any explanatory text, offer a far from dull diversion for any readers interested in mid-century design or the mundane details of daily life. --Jordana Moskowitz --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Individually, the cards are a kitsch hoot; collectively, they re-create not only the appearance but the spirit and soul of a Britain that vanished for ever somewhere around the 1970s.... Parr's 'boring postcards' give meaning to a wistful phrase much beloved of recent prime ministers. They show the last time Britain really was, for better or worse, a nation at ease with itself. Look back and mourn." The Sunday Times "Martin Parr's daringly dull collection of 160 coma-inducing postcards from the edge of common sense. Yes, they're funny. But they also reveal a view of the UK in the period from the '50s to the '70s, when road-building and fast development looked like signs of a healthy future." Time Out "Individually each of the postcards more than meet the requirements of the book's title - yes, these are ludicrously boring places - but as whole they make a compelling collection." Dazed & Confused "... far from dull, Parr's book is a strangely compelling commentary on postwar British architecture, social life and identity..." Independent on Sunday "... Groovy, baby." Time "... exquisitely tedious... visual gems..." World of Interiors "... the funniest book [of the year] has been Boring Postcards by Martin Parr, which I keep on the kitchen table and chortle over during breakfast. This sends my cornflakes flying...." Charlotte Cory (novelist), The Independent "... top of the class... Its blend of pathos and bathos is hilarious. It fills the onlooker with Christmas spirit: that's to say, nostalgia, revulsion, hysteria and delight." Evening Standard"

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714843903
• ISBN-13: 978-0714843902
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 8.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #995,150 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars better than the title suggests!, November 28, 1999

By 

Turnip (Wulfren center, wolverhampton) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boring Postcards (Hardcover)

Martin Parr has done it again in his depiction of the world as it really is rather than how we want it to be. Whilst found art rather than his own masterpieces the banality of the work is remarkeable. Can't wait to visit old blighty again to see the Preston bus garage and the other Real sights of Britain.Touchingly nostalgic.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tragic, September 14, 2000

By 

Mr. A. Pomeroy (Wiltshire, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boring Postcards (Hardcover)

A strange, alien experience, 'Boring Postcards' is quite literally a set of boring postcards. In a book. Although it's the kind of thing you buy expecting it to be kitsch it's actually deeply affecting - taken at a time when Britain was rebuilding itself after WWII, and 'Dan Dare' from 'Eagle' proposed a future in which Britain ruled space, the concrete buildings, motorways and civic centres are almost heartbreakingly sad nowadays - the equivalent of the bull ring market in Birmingham. If this book was an object it would be one of those tomato-shaped squeezy ketchup dispensers, or a faded yellow plastic school chair.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, if you are open to it, July 29, 2002

By 

Daniel A Lieb (Northern Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boring Postcards (Hardcover)

I would agree with some of the previous reviewers. I love this book. I keep it on my coffee table and look at it when I'm bored. Many people would look at it and think its completely pointless. After all, these postcards are exactly the type of thing my wife keeps trying to throw away because they're "junk." I don't think they are junk. Taken together, these pictures might say something about society, history or something of that nature. I say, "who cares?" I just think they're plain funny. Pictures of shopping malls and 60's hotel lounges - all entertaining. Some of the funniest ones are of some guy's body shop on an ugly lot somewhere in wherever, but it says, "Ray's Body Shop" proudly at the top of the card. If you like visual stimulation of any kind, you'll like this book.