Photographer Martin Parr has decided to photograph the rich in their habitat, exposing an elite world for the rest of us. He writes:
Shot in various locations, from art fairs to horse racing, and in many countries, I have selected situations where people are comfortable showing off their wealth. Designer clothes, champagne and parties are all part of this repertoire.
…
Traditionally the portrayal of poverty has been the domain of the “concerned photographer” [see, for example, here], but I photograph wealth in the same spirit.
What I like about his photographs is the realistic portrayal of the rich. Unlike the way in which wealth is glamorized in popular culture (see, for example, here, here, here, here, and here), these are real people, with all of their imperfections, showing off all of their money.
The pictures are (as far as I’ve been able to determine) from the U.S., Moscow, and Dubai:
(Images from here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.)
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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
Comments 18
mordicai — June 16, 2009
I wonder if the cigar smoking is so ubiquitous because it makes for good photo opportunities, or if rich people are just disgusting?
Stef — June 16, 2009
"The rich are not like you and me."
"Yes, they have more money."
-- conversation attributed to F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway
(apocryphal)
Annebonannie — June 16, 2009
When I've run across people I knew were truly affluent they usually seem to be wearing the dowdiest stuff - plaid golf pants in screaming colors, or for the women, jumpers, turtlenecks and tunics that seem to all be of nearly the same vaguely 60's cut. Or was I just amidst the "well to do" instead of the truly wealthy?
Duran — June 16, 2009
>> I wonder if the cigar smoking is so ubiquitous because it makes for good photo opportunities, or if rich people are just disgusting?
Photo op.
These aren't rich people in their natural habitat. These are people (who knows if they're rich?) intentionally showing off a stereotypically rich lifestyle.
I'm not rich by any means, but if you get a photo of me on a good night out, you could probably make me look like a young billionaire.
Another pointless post from lisa.
Matt K — June 16, 2009
Duran,
Just wondering, if you find this blog so pointless, why do you continue to frequent it? Your last few posts have been increasingly hostile and dismissive. Nobody is forcing you to stay.
hayley — June 16, 2009
I wouldn't be too quick to praise martin parr. his trade over the last 20 years or so has consisted of sneering at poor people and their kitch holidaying habits.
h.x
md — June 16, 2009
It's difficult to know whether these people are actually rich, or just "playing dress up". The first photo could be any regular blokes at the races (it is impossible to know what brand their suits are, or how much they cost). The woman in the 3rd photo looks like she's just raided the costume closet of the local university theatre department!
And what is the "natural habitat" of rich people? I'm sure you could just as easily take a photo of a rich person lounging around in an old pair of track pants and tshirt, if that was what you wanted to do or show. Rich people are just ordinary people with money.
Luey — June 16, 2009
These pictures aren't that interesting to me because I feel like I've seen them a million times before. I KNOW how the rich live.
I guess I KNOW how the poor live as well, but I feel like I've seen countless images of rich people being rich. I'm not slamming this post - I think that the fact that I react to these pictures with a "meh" says something about our society.
And Duran, how do you know that these "aren't rich people in their natural environment?" Were you there? Do you accuse photographers who shoot in poverty-stricken environments of posing their subjects in stereotypical poses? Well, I suppose you do. I'm not sure why you're slamming Lisa for this post. She's reporting the work of another person that demonstrates a facet of our society. How is that not sociological, exactly? One of the points of this blog is that ANY image reveals facets of our society, and that how we read and respond to images is culturally driven. Even when I may think that someone is reading too much into an image, that person's reaction is driven by their cultural milieu - as is my own.
Rayenae — June 16, 2009
I'm not the photographer nor am I the author of the post, so I can't say what either really intended here. However, I do believe I'm taking away something very different from what others are saying here.
As I understood it, the point was not "this is what rich people do" so much as "this is who rich people are"... as in that they're people too. Look at them, not just the fancy trappings. They're not all super models in sexy poses. Hell, check out the fourth picture down. A woman who is obviously not the picturesque rail-thin beauty and she's even got a spot of something on her dress.
I just find it rather amusing that everyone seems to be criticizing the post for being the exact opposite of what I see.
seatangle — June 17, 2009
like the above commenter, i'm also seeing something different in these pictures. some (like the lady with the cigar and weasel around her neck) confirm this perception i have about extravagance and greed. but then others (like the mother sleeping with her baby, or the frumpy-ish lady in the purple hat) just show normal people. they have money, but they are human.
Lindsey — June 17, 2009
I find it interesting that the rich people live up to the stereotypes. Fair enough, the photographer has sought out particular situations, but these rich people are deliberately "performing" wealth on these occasions, regardless of how much they might dress down the rest of the time and be like the rest of us, at these events they and only they know how to fit in to these situations appropriately.
Heidi — June 17, 2009
I'm curious about the picture with the baby stroller.
* Is the man standing there the father?
* Is the woman in blue the mother or the nanny?
* Which role, if either, is the woman in heels and makeup standing there?
And most importantly, thinking of those roles, how do the answers affect how you view the image and the subjects?
Original Will — June 17, 2009
That woman with the weasel looks miserable. Not only is she smoking a cigar, she's two-fisting the martinis.
Suddenly the drive to get rich doesn't seem so important to me any more...
mordicai — June 17, 2009
Two fisting martinis sounds really good about now.
Liyana T — October 7, 2009
For the Arab post. Obviously the lady in Christian Dior is the mom and the lady in the 'tudong' or headscarf is an Indonesian nanny. The Arabs don't favor marrying dark skinned women.
Vodalus — November 22, 2009
Revisiting this so I can link it on Twitter... That last comment made me scroll back up and double-check this: not one of these women are "dark-skinned" aside from the supposed nanny.
There are several men of color. Who wants to speculate on why there are no women of color in these images? Is it a function of how many exist in these echelons or is it a function of how many the photographer chose to portray?
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Ciderkiss — May 26, 2010
This is one helluva interesting post! Thanks!