Photographic Realism : The Art of Richard Billingham

https://www.bloomsbury.com/9781350108691/ One of the most captivating and provocative artists of the Sensation generation, Richard Billingham (b. 1970) came to prominence in the late 1990s with his visceral photobook __Ray's a Laugh__, a slice of everyday life in a high-rise sink estate in the British West Midlands. This book is the first comprehensive discussion of Billingham's art practice. Articulating the socio-historical, aesthetic, geographical as well as anthropological aspects of Billingham's art, the book situates his work within the British neorealist tradition in visual art, cinema and televisual culture. Beginning with the first photographic studies of his father in the early 1990s, Cashell argues that these sympathetic, haunting images prefigure the later development of his thematic concerns. Significant consideration is also given to Billingham's cinematic oeuvre, including his recent feature-length autobiographical film, __Ray & Liz__, which substantially clarifies the complex continuity of his developing aesthetic vision. Illustrated throughout with colour and black and white reproductions, __Photographic Realism: The Art of Richard Billingham__ combines investigative research with interviews and studio conversations, providing a subtle and sophisticated critical evaluation of the artist's key photographic and film-based works from the 1990s to the present. The first comprehensive examination of contemporary artist Richard Billingham, this book aims to provide an insightful overview and original interpretation of the artist's practice from the early 1990s to the present day. Illustrated throughout with colour and black and white reproductions, it combines accessibility and clarity of presentation with critical analysis and meticulous research. Conceived as an introduction to Billingham's art for a general audience, 'Photographic Realism: The Art of Richard Billingham' is an essential resource for the history and theory of contemporary aesthetics and visual culture. Yet it is not an exclusively academic text, but is intended to appeal to students of art and visual culture, art industry administrators, curators, gallerists, journalists, reviewers and art critics, as well as media and lens-based practitioners seeking to contextualise their practice Title Page Copyright Page Contents Illustrations Abbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction: Still pursuing the Real Chapter 1: A sociologist’s paradise: Early family studies (1990–4) Chapter 2: Prole art threat: Ray’s a Laugh (1996) Chapter 3: They fuck you up: Sensation | Fishtank (1997–8) Chapter 4: Outside Chapter 5: Enclosure: Zoo (2004–7) Chapter 6: Home: Recent cinematic work (2015–18) Conclusion: Locating Billingham in the context of British neorealism: Memory realism and the paternal gaze Notes Bibliography Filmography Index