The historical denial of photography as an art form rested in the argument that photographers were simply documenters who faithfully replicated a specific thing or event in the natural world. Peter Peryer’s photograph reminds us of this history through both its subject and execution. Here Peryer replicates a work by one of the greatest Baroque artists, Rembrandt. The etching is of a shell, a simple item from the natural world, but in Rembrandt’s hand it was considered art. Why should that not be the case for photography?
- extended label text for the exhibition 'After You', 2013.