I’m a Real Photographer: Photographs by Keith Arnatt (2007)

Born in Oxford in 1930 and now retired, Keith Arnatt’s life as an artist falls into two distinct parts. In the late 1960s his iconoclastic and witty performances, sculptures and texts, challenging the tenets of ‘art’, established him as an influential Conceptual artist. His work was seen at the Hayward and Tate galleries in London and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. But then in the mid 1970s, in an act defying the prevailing values of the art world, Arnatt chose to become a photographer instead. Over the following 26 years he immersed himself in the history of photography, making progressive photo series in the immediate vicinity of his home in South Wales.

Nineteen series of photographs are featured here – and in The Photographers’ Gallery exhibition – in the first comprehensive account of Arnatt’s photography. Each series explores the conventions of the medium with a distinct edge and humour; seen together, the threads and themes of Arnatt’s work connect to make a coherent statement about the act of photography and its relationship to the history of art. The narrative of Arnatt’s unique journey in photography proves surprising, provocative and, ultimately, moving.

Accompanying 160 of Arnatt’s photographs reproduced here is a personal account of Arnatt’s journey by David Hurn – Magnum photographer, author and Arnatt’s close friend and colleague. With a foreword by Brett Rogers – Director of The Photographers’ Gallery, and an illustrated contextual essay exploring the links between his Conceptual art and his photography, by Clare Grafik – curator of The Photographers’ Gallery.

Condition: Ownership signature to front pastedown, otherwise fine