Photographic Realism: The Art of Richard Billingham

Richard Billingham's art practice is explored in Photographic Realism: The Art of Richard Billingham, which situates his work within the British neorealist tradition and includes his cinematic oeuvre. The book offers a critical evaluation of his key photographic and film-based works from the 1990s to the present, with illustrations in color and black and white.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 23 March 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Richard Billingham, born in 1970, is a captivating and provocative artist who gained prominence in the late 1990s with his visceral photobook Rays a Laugh, which offers 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, exploring its socio-historical, aesthetic, geographical, and anthropological aspects. The author, Cashell, argues that Billingham's early photographic studies of his father in the early 1990s prefigure the later development of his thematic concerns. The book also gives significant consideration to Billingham's cinematic oeuvre, including his recent feature-length autobiographical film, Ray & Liz, which provides a deeper understanding of his developing aesthetic vision. Photographic Realism: The Art of Richard Billingham combines investigative research with interviews and studio conversations, offering a subtle and sophisticated critical evaluation of the artist's key photographic and film-based works from the 1990s to the present. The book is illustrated throughout with color and black and white reproductions, providing a visual feast for the eyes.

Weight: 610g
Dimension: 233 x 157 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350282421