Book Review - Keith Arnatt, I'm a Real Photographer

Keith Arnatt, I'm a Real Photographer


Who/What/When/Where?

Keith Arnatt (1930-2008), British conceptual artist and photographer. 
The book displays photographs from his career spanning across 1974-2002, coinciding with the exhibition I'm A Real Photographer at The Photographers' Gallery in London, 28th June - 26th August 2007 - reflecting on the lifetime achievements of Keith Arnatt. 
Written by David Hurth & Clare Grafik
Published 2007 by Chris Boot.

Concept - Connected ideas, references, narrative, personal?

Originally a painter in the 1950's, he gained recognition in the 1960's as a conceptual artist before he even picked up a camera. Although now with his photographs, many are often left confused as to what his artistic intention was. And for that we must revert our thoughts back to conceptualism.



Structure - line, shape, form, texture, colour, balance, unity, emphasis, rhythm

The book is structured into three sections, a body of photographs sandwiched between two bodies of text at each end written by David Hurn and Clare Grafik. The texts are presented on slightly lower quality paper of a sickly, yellow colour. There are also photographs printed within these sections yet of a lower quality also, giving the impression - intentionally or not - that these images were of low importance or popularity at the time of their release. It may also have been an intentional jab towards the ongoing standard of constraints an artist must uphold to be considered fashionable. 

The photographs are ordered chronologically from Arnatt's collection, beginning with the first series of pictures he completed after transitioning to the title of 'photographer'. It features portraits of tourists visiting close to his home, exploring the conventions of being photographed. Soon after he created another series Walking the Dog (1976-1979), Arnatt was becoming fascinated on how the camera affects people, turning their gaze to the photographer and holding a formal pose. 

Soon Arnatt's fascination turned, in the 1980's, to landscape and the human affects on it. He played with our idea of beauty and our expectations of the 'landscape image', photographing area's of usual beauty yet with obvious human stamp. It seems that this 'human stamp' worked as a transition to his future series of images exhibiting photographs of Howler's Hill rubbish tip, near his home. It focuses on his continual obsession with photographic transformation, specifically here how the 'expressive qualities' of decomposing rubbish shows through a photograph. This series was followed by Pictures from a Rubbish Tip (1988-1989), a more photogenic collection featuring the same subject at hand yet photographed in warm evening light; instantly transforming these photographs into what may seem to be historic oil-paintings of the Baroque period. Both surreal and beautiful. 

Keith Arnatt began to photograph bits of rubbish from the tip in a studio environment, changing their position and presentation to become sculptural objects. These series play on the juxtaposition between the style of the image and the object displayed. 

In capturing the everyday and elevating it he shows the photographic world that everything can be photographed, as he told Hurn "I like to photograph the things that everyone else thinks are not worth photographing"

Meaning - point of view, message, metaphor, symbolism

Attune with many conceptual artists, Arnatt preferred to exhibit process and idea rather than product, fleeing from the constraints of the gallery system. He worked with obscurity, intrigued by how photography could transform everyday objects. 

Historical/Theoretical context 

During the 60's and 70's many of his paintings were exhibited at prestigious venues - the Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art. Though coming the 80's and 90's his direction changed and he welcomed the medium of photography, also becoming a teacher in the field. However, many failed to appreciate why a successful conceptual artist would take such a step backwards in the art world, where photography was yet to be truly considered a medium through which "real art" (hence "I'm a real artist") could be vented; and so many of these prestigious venues refused to exhibit his photography work, which were publicly unfashionable towards the Tate at the time. At the point in time when there was a gap between the art and photographic world, Keith Arnatt fell into it during his photographic transition, and it can be considered a reason why he and his works are more valued today.