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The swimming pool and its multiple histories
"It is just a tub of water, big enough to get into." are the opening words of Francis Hodgens in the extensive catalogue 'The Swimming Pool in Photography' in which the varied history of the swimming pool is documented.
Among the photographs, which range from the late 19th century to the present day, is one by Leni Riefenstahl (1902 - 2003), a controversial German film director who was particularly criticized for producing Nazi propaganda films. Riefenstahl herself was a talented swimmer and pursued this passion also as a photographer by taking numerous pictures of swimmers especially in 1936, some were taken as part of the questionable Olympic Summer Games in Berlin. Fourty years later Martin Parr shot some pool pictures that resemble a different social study.
Francis Hodgson: The Swimmingpool in Photography, P.60/61. Printed Images by Martin Parr
