A.O.N.B. (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) 1982 - 1984

Editor: So, this is Keith Arnatt's "A.O.N.B. (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty)," undated, in the Tate collection. The monochrome scene feels so ordinary, almost banal. What do you see in this photograph? Curator: The awning strikes me first. Its bold stripes attempt to domesticate, almost gentrify, the ruin visible in the background. Do you think it succeeds, or perhaps highlights the futility of taming history? Editor: I hadn't considered that tension. So, the awning is like a shield against the past, or maybe a filter? Curator: Precisely. Consider the symbols here: a modern awning, a decaying abbey, a road promising forward movement. Arnatt seems to be asking: can we ever truly escape our cultural memory? Editor: That’s a lot to unpack from such a simple image. Thanks for pointing out the cultural weight of those symbols. Curator: Indeed. It is a reminder that even in the most seemingly mundane scenes, echoes of history and enduring cultural narratives resonate.