If a photograph is a tribute to a moment, for Chris Parr, shooting the photograph is a tribute to a memory — of his older brother, Russ.
“In 2001, (Russ) passed away from leukemia, and his gift to me in his will was his camera rig, which was two Minolta bodies and an assortment of lenses,” Parr says.
Russ had been an avid amateur photographer, specializing in nature scenes and portraits of his family. Both brothers had come to understand the allure of photography at a young age. Quality cameras and shutterbug parents are constants in Parr’s memories from childhood. Unlike Russ, though, Parr let his interest go dormant after his teen years until Russ’ death and the gift of his cameras teased out Parr’s inner photographer.
Starting with his brother’s film-based Minoltas and moving several years later to digital Sony cameras, Parr began to explore the world through the viewfinder.
“I really like urban decay and I guess rural decay as well,” Parr says. “I like old buildings no matter where they are, but I think that the urban stuff really lends itself better to photography. I love that sort of thing. Kind of Americana, older signs, even graffiti can be really cool.”
You learn to see what makes a good photograph, Parr explains, to identify with a primitive eye the voice of each moment and scene. And then you hone the craft, learn the settings on the camera and use light and angles to reproduce the image.
Parr’s sensibility spoke to Jami Wade when she first saw his work. Owner of Capital City CORK, a wine bar on High Street, she was looking for artwork to display in the restaurant when Parr and his wife, Katy, became patrons of the business.
“[His work] just was perfect for that space because it really had a narrative,” Wade says.
Like the building where she established CORK, Parr’s cityscapes told the story of Jefferson City.
The show at CORK, which ended in August, was Parr’s first solo show, but his photography has been on display in other places around Jefferson City. A recent show at Capital Arts on Missouri Boulevard included photographs he shot for a contest that was part of the 175th anniversary celebration of the Missouri State Penitentiary. One is a close-up of a big lock used to lock an entire block of cells. Another focuses on two signs that say, “If you don’t have a pass, don’t be here,” and, “Out of bounds.”
“It’s got a really kind of sparse and creepy feel to it,” Parr says.
He currently has a piece hanging in the Cole County Courthouse that has proven to be popular with local audiences. Titled Alley Doors, it simply shows a set of old doors in the alley behind Arris’ Pizza.
For Parr, the magic of each photograph begins with its inception but is not complete until seen by each individual viewer. He laughs because despite selling multiple prints of Alley Doors, it has never been one of his personal favorites. You can’t always know how an audience will react to any piece of art, Parr says, whether it is a painting or dance or a photograph.
Taken as part of Parr’s body of work, however, Alley Doors is, similar to his other photographs, an overture of Parr’s life. Photography is the art that speckled his childhood, moved him through grief and eventually shaped the adult he is today.
Great writeup about a terrific and talented guy!