Jeff Wall is a Canadian born, Vancouver based photographer who specializes in back lit tableaux photographs of the city of Vancouver itself. Wall studied at the University of British Colombia and graduated with a masters degree in photography in 1970. In the same year he relocated to London to study for a post graduate degree at the courtyard institute, studying with Manet expert T.J Clark. He then went on to become the Assistant professor at Nova Scotia college of Art and Design from 1974-1975 and he then became the associate professor at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia from 1976-1987 whilst also teaching at The University of British Columbia.
Wall is renowned for his tableaux reconstructions of scenarios he had witnessed himself that were representative of the political environment at the time. His photos are always back lit and in a cinematographic style, Depicting more of a story through this means. Due to his tableaux style, His shoots often consisted of many people such as cast, crew as well as digital post production workers. Almost all of his shoots are centered around suburban Vancouver, world renowned for the relationship between the suburban environment and the rural environment. Many of the suburban areas have mountainous backdrops and are bordered by forests as well as having a substantial amount of urban architecture, which Wall finds to be a great way of providing contrast within an image.
“Pair of interiors” (2018) shows a man and a woman having a communications breakdown.
Image Analysis
The lighting in this image is warm and dull which is diffused throughout the bright-walled room. All the colours within the room are neutrals apart from what the people are wearing; this contrast is showing the difference in interest during this candid conversation. Also, reflected within the images is the photographers decision to stand in the middle to make an emphasis on the split of connection. The overall composition of the image is an uncomfortable feeling of divide and the conflict of interest reflected in the lines and colours that oppose to the human figures.
From
the 1880s and onwards photographers strived for photography to be art by trying
to make pictures that resembled paintings e.g. manipulating images in the
darkroom, scratching and marking their prints to imitate the texture of canvas,
using soft focus, blurred and fuzzy imagery based on allegorical and spiritual
subject matter, including religious scenes.
Pictorialism reacted against mechanization and industrialisation. They abhorred the snapshot and were also dismayed at the increasing industrial exploitation of photography and practices that pandered to a commercial and professional establishment. The Pictorialists championed evocative photographs and individual expression and they constructed their images looking for harmony of matter, mind and spirit; the first was addressed through objective technique and process, the second in a considered application of the principles of composition and design, and the last by the development of a subjective and spiritual motive.
Artists associated
Julia Margaret Cameron (one of the first socially accepted photographers during this period) – Peter Henry Emerson ‘naturalistic photography’ – book he wrote on the romanticism of photography with rural landscapes and figures within landscapes – The Vienna camera club (Austria) – The brotherhood of the linked ring (London) – Photo secession (New York)
Key works
Julia Margaret Cameron was a photographer in the Victorian era. The bulk of Cameron’s photographs fit into two categories – closely framed portraits and illustrative allegories based on religious and literary works. In the allegorical works in particular, her artistic influence was clearly Pre-Raphaelite, with far-away looks and limp poses and soft lighting. Cameron’s photographs were unconventional in their intimacy and their particular visual habit of created blur through both long exposures, where the subject moved and by leaving the lens intentionally out of focus. – Peter Henry Emerson – In 1889 Peter Henry Emerson (1856-1936) expounded his theory of Naturalistic Photography which the Pictorialist used to promote photography as an art rather than science. Their handcrafted prints were in visual opposition to the sharp b/w contrast of the commercial print.
REALISM / STRAIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
Time period: 1920s
Key characteristics/ conventions
Went back to photography origins, with detail and purpose not recreating paintings. (closely associated with ‘straight photography’) photography grew up with claims of having a special relationship to reality, and its premise, that the camera’s ability to record objectively the actual world as it appears in front of the lens was unquestioned. This supposed veracity of the photographic image has been challenged by critics as the photographer’s subjectivity (how he or she sees the world and chooses to photograph it) and the implosion of digital technology challenges this notion opening up many new possibilities for both interpretation and manipulation. A belief in the trustworthiness of the photograph is also fostered by the news media who rely on photographs to show the truth of what took place.
Modernsim was a movement in art, literature and architecture that reacted to the intense changes in technology, society and culture at the time. It rejected the dominance of older movements such as Naturalism and was in favour of new experimental ways of producing art.
Paul Strand
Paul Strand was an American photographer who helped establish photography as an art form in the 20th century. His pictorial studies followed by coolly seductive machine photographs helped define early American modernism.
Post-Modernism:
Postmodernism was created through the dismantling of the modernism movement. Modernism was generally based on idealism and a Utopian version of human life and society and a belief in progress, whereas Postmodernism was born of skepticism and suspicion of reason. It challenged the notion that there are universal certainties or truths. Most art which can be included in this movement refers to things outside of the art world such as social and cultural issues, and looks at the importance of context behind a picture. A photographer which can be related to this movement is Cindy Sherman.
Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman is an American photographer best known for her socially critical photography and feminist artwork. She uses makeup, costumes and stage scenery to create tableaus of situations to challenge modern concepts, mainly about the roles of women within society. A lot of her work can be considered postmodernism as the context behind her images are just as important as the work itself.
The time period which modernism became a period of experimentation was during the late 19th to the mid 20th century and was mostly popular in the years after World War One.
Key Characteristics- Modernism is the art movement which associates with cultural trends and changes which came from the transformations in Western society during the late 19th century. There are different modern-isms which are often incompatible and they reject the dominance of older movements such as Naturalism, Classicism as well as Academicism which is done in the favor of producing art. It inspires all aspects of society in its cultural form through Architecture, Painting, Photography and Fiction, this is because it is characterized intellectually. Photography was invented as part of the process of modernization which took place in the industrial revolution. It is known as a modern form of image making which helps the development of modernism.
Key Conventions- Modernism can be done through other smaller projects such as straight photography and realism. Straight photography was used by photographers who believed in intrinsic qualities and provided accurate/ descriptive records of the visual world. They aimed the make images which were photographic rather than painterly as they didn’t want to treat photography as a type of paining such as monochrome. Because of this they used handwork and soft focus in a wide depth-of-field. In addition to this, Realism is associated very closely to straight photography as it is taking images while trying to recreate the image you see in front of you, therefore showing it has a relationship towards reality and shows a cameras ability to capture the world as it appears.
Artists Associated
Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946)- He was influenced by European avant-garde art movements as images in this range included underlying abstract geometric forms. Stiegliz took an image called ‘The Steerage’ which wasn’t up to Pictorialism’s aesthetic which was then therefore qualified to go into the ‘Straight Photography Means’.
Alexander Rodchenko, Russian, 1891-1956- Rodchenko worked on a new aesthetic vision using extreme viewpoints through their photography and graphic design. They rejected illusions so that photographic representation could be um problematic aspects of reality.
Key Works
Methods/ Techniques/ Processes- Black and white edits are used for emphasis, sharp focus images in order for them to be seen clearly, as well as a large frame size.
PostModernism
Post Modernism was first discovered through ‘Pop Art’ in the 1960s which was then developed into the aspect we know now which was made in the 1970s.
Key Characteristics/ Conventions- Postmodernism is known to be a reaction against ideas as well as values of modernism. The term of modernism’s dominance in cultural theory is associated with irony and philosophical concepts of universal truths. There is a known distinction between high and low art which incorporate popular elements making the overall postmodernism. Key conventions of postmodernism makes references towards outside art work which adds to the contextual work.
Artists Associated
Cindy Sherman (1977-1980)- Photographs are taken from videos and she untitled films in order to showcase female stereotypes and feminism.
Barbera Kruger (1945)- She is seen challenging cultural stereotypes and her work is displayed through the use of posters.
Key Works
Methods/ Techniques/ Processes- Photographs are usually blown hip, edited, cropped etc to be used used in newspapers and billboards. Others use repetition to create emphasis on the image.
Pictorialism was created first in 1880 but flourished during the period of 1885- 1915 and it overall refers to style and aesthetic movements. It is the approach to photography which shows the beauty of the subject as well as the composition which creates the feel that it isn’t reality. It also refers to the style in which the photographer has manipulated an image, meaning its a created image.
Key Characteristics/Conventions- The people who first came up with the overall idea of this subject matter wanted their photographic work to be related closely to art and drawing, therefore they created techniques which made images look like paintings when they were taking the photograph eg, taking images in darkrooms, blurry/fuzzed images, soft focus, markings on canvas which all are based on religious scenes. Pictorialism also dismays the industrial exploitation of photography which connects to professional establishment. Following this, the photographs give individual expressions.
Artists Associated
Julia Margaret Cameron- She was a photographer in the Victoria era and she is known for her closely framed portraits and illustrative/ religious works. Her photographs are unconventional and have a particular created blur through long exposures.
Sally Mann (1951)- She creates haunting images which represents the loss of life. She includes a lot of darkness in her mixed landscape and portrait images which explores the divide between body and souk, and life and death. This is clearly shown in her images of decomposing bodies and portraits of her children.
Peter Henry Emerson (1856-1936)- He has a theory of Naturalistic Photography which the subject of Pictorialism used to promote photography as an overall art. He handcrafted the prints in a visual form.
Key works
Methods/ techniques/ processes- The first technique being putting Vaseline on the camera lens which created a smudge allowing a symbolic meaning to do with religion. This is also an example of pictorial photographs lacking sharp focus, creating its overall style. Some work as groups to create more ideas, not very good quality cameras are used as they intend a blur anyway.
Realism/Straight Photography
Photo-Realism photography first began in the 1920s and became extremely popular in the 1960s as it became more well known and took overall photography as an inspiration. Photographers who photograph realist images are called ‘Photo- Realists’ and they are people who created high quality images which are illusionistic and reproduce the original image.
Key Characteristics/Conventions- Realism is known as a style of photography which creates an image for what it is, a pure documentary style. It is a very accurate and doesn’t have any metaphorical manners as it focuses on real people in their natural situations. The photographers who capture these moments use sharp focus techniques and use a wide depth of field in order to capture the whole scene, representing the realistic side. In relation, Straight Photography is closely associated with Realism and these photographers believe in intrinsic qualities and it has an ability to provide records of the visual world through descriptive aspects.
A smaller group in the subject of Realism, ‘Social Reform Photography’ which is when people photograph the conditions in which people live in and represents how different it is to a ‘average’ persons living way.
Artists Associated
Walker Evens (1903-1975)- Evens was a documentary photographer in the 20th century who previously rejected Pictorialism as he wanted to create new photographic art which has an obscure look. He photographed several families who work on different farms to represent their uniforms, backgrounds/ living environments. He also made a book which shows all the different families in comparison.
Alfrid Stieglitz- He tells images through a story through capturing images of immigrants in abstract pictures.
Key Works
Methods/ techniques/ processes- There is a constant use of a sharp focus which allows for the image being taken to be seen in detail, this also represents the ‘Realism’ aspect in detail. A wide depth of field is also seen the be used which again, shows the realism. The use of environmental photography is supporting the overall role.
It involves the mixture of different art medium that reference political, cultural and historical issues.
The concept itself lacks rules, it’s up to the photographer to decide what messages they encode and how these messages are represented in an image.
In a way it’s initial motive was to challenge the idea of modernism.
Postmodernism is best understood by defining the modernist ethos it replaced – that of the ‘avant-garde’ who were active from 1860s to the 1950s. Postmodernism overturned the idea that there was one inherent meaning to a work of art or that this meaning was determined by the artist at the time of creation. Instead, the viewer became an important determiner of meaning, even allowed by some artists to participate in the work as in the case of some performance pieces.
Key characteristics/ conventions : Common targets of postmodernism and critical theory include universalist notions of objective reality, morality, truth, human nature, reason, language, and social progress. The ideas rejected by postmodernists include the idea of artistic development as goal-oriented, the notion that only men are artistic geniuses, and the outdated assumption that non-white races are inferior. Feminist art and minority art that challenged canonical ways of thinking are often included under the umbrella of postmodernism or seen as representations of it.
Artists associated: William Eggleston and Robert Rauschenberg.
Dadaism: Dada or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century. Dadasim had an influence on postmodernism in its questioning of authenticity and originality. ‘Combined with the notion of appropriation, postmodernism often took the undermining of originality to the point of copyright infringement, even in the use of photographs with little or no alteration to the original.’ -The Art Story.
STYLISTIC AND CONTEXTUAL IDEAS:
The snapshot type imagery which Eggleston created throughout his career, created anecdotal meaning about everyday aspects of life. The accessible and simplistic method of his photography, such as using the Kodak’s Brownie camera, meant that his work had a personal touch to subjects he had no direct personal link with. Color also represented a multitude of themes in his work such as the contrast between the new and the old, the ordinary and extraordinary, the man-made and the natural. In many senses he was a non-conformist, associating him as a prominent figure in the postmodernist art scene. He also explored a contemporary commercial printing process of dye transfer to see the ways in which this could contribute to the representation of color and how this could become the focal point instead of the selling of lifestyle, concepts or ideas. During his career there were a few occasions where Eggleston encountered the work of Andy Worhol, exposing him to other popular forms of mediums, contributing to his experimental photography style. Eggleston’s use of the anecdotal and everyday is set apart by his focus on details such as facial expression which can be seen in the image above. Throughout his career he pushed the boundaries of documentary photography associated with the works of Robert Frank and Walker Evans. His photography effectively captured the shift of life in the South from rural to cosmopolitan societies.
In the work above we can see an example of the extreme focus which Eggleston pays to the facial expressions and body language of the subjects. There is a clear contrast in character from the youthful appearance of the woman on the right and the sickly, pale and tired lady on the right hand side of the image. There is also an overall contrast of color from the left and right with the radiant blonde hair, African print dress and the dark, flat hair and blue toned dress. There is a distinct lack of facial expression with with the woman on the left as she lays on the sofa, in a lifeless and melancholy fashion, observed by the Goddess like presence of the light haired woman. The image provokes overall feelings of conflict and change. Opposed to the typical conventions of postmodernism, this image in particular follows close conventions of Tableau and Renaissance art with the stylized body language and dramatic lighting. This image very effectively showcases the postmodernist features which Eggleston focused on within his work.
Methods/ techniques/ processes:
Tableaux- staged photography which displays a pictorial narrative.
Key characteristics/ conventions : Modernism refers to a global movement in society and culture that from the early decades of the twentieth century sought a new alignment with the experience and values of modern industrial life. Building on late nineteenth-century precedents, artists around the world used new imagery, materials and techniques to create artworks that they felt better reflected the realities and hopes of modern societies.
Artists associated: Margareth Bourke-White
Key works: Grant Wood-American Gothic
Methods/ techniques/ processes:
photojournalism
avant-garde movement
POST-MODERNISM
Time period : Postmodernism is best understood by defining the modernist ethos it replaced – that of the ‘avant-garde’ who were active from 1860s to the 1950s. Postmodernism overturned the idea that there was one inherent meaning to a work of art or that this meaning was determined by the artist at the time of creation. Instead, the viewer became an important determiner of meaning, even allowed by some artists to participate in the work as in the case of some performance pieces.
Key characteristics/ conventions :
It is the movement away from modernism.
It involves the mixture of different art medium that reference political, cultural and historical issues.
The concept itself lacks rules, it’s up to the photographer to decide what messages they encode and how these messages are represented in an image.
In a way it’s initial motive was to challenge the idea of modernism.
Common targets of postmodernism and critical theory include universalist notions of objective reality, morality, truth, human nature, reason, language, and social progress. The ideas rejected by postmodernists include the idea of artistic development as goal-oriented, the notion that only men are artistic geniuses, and the outdated assumption that non-white races are inferior. Feminist art and minority art that challenged canonical ways of thinking are often included under the umbrella of postmodernism or seen as representations of it.
Artists associated: William Eggleston and Robert Rauschenberg.
The snapshot type imagery which Eggleston created throughout his career, created anecdotal meaning about everyday aspects of life. The accessible and simplistic method of his photography, such as using the Kodak’s Brownie camera, meant that his work had a personal touch to subjects he had no direct personal link with. Color also represented a multitude of themes in his work such as the contrast between the new and the old, the ordinary and extraordinary, the man-made and the natural. In many senses he was a non-conformist, associating him as a prominent figure in the postmodernist art scene. He also explored a contemporary commercial printing process of dye transfer to see the ways in which this could contribute to the representation of color and how this could become the focal point instead of the selling of lifestyle, concepts or ideas. During his career there were a few occasions where Eggleston encountered the work of Andy Worhol, exposing him to other popular forms of mediums, contributing to his experimental photography style. Eggleston’s use of the anecdotal and everyday is set apart by his focus on details such as facial expression which can be seen in the image above. Throughout his career he pushed the boundaries of documentary photography associated with the works of Robert Frank and Walker Evans. His photography effectively captured the shift of life in the South from rural to cosmopolitan societies.
In the work above we can see an example of the extreme focus which Eggleston pays to the facial expressions and body language of the subjects. There is a clear contrast in character from the youthful appearance of the woman on the right and the sickly, pale and tired lady on the right hand side of the image. There is also an overall contrast of color from the left and right with the radiant blonde hair, African print dress and the dark, flat hair and blue toned dress. There is a distinct lack of facial expression with with the woman on the left as she lays on the sofa, in a lifeless and melancholy fashion, observed by the Goddess like presence of the light haired woman. The image provokes overall feelings of conflict and change. Opposed to the typical conventions of postmodernism, this image in particular follows close conventions of Tableau and Renaissance art with the stylized body language and dramatic lighting. This image very effectively showcases the postmodernist features which Eggleston focused on within his work.
Methods/ techniques/ processes:
Tableaux- staged photography which displays a pictorial narrative.
Intertextuality – when you include others work.
Eclecticism – the mixture of styles.
Refiguration – re-structuring an original image.
Collaboration-working alongside other artists.
Pastiche – copying an original.
Re-cycling- using materials more than once.
Dadaism: Dada or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century. Dadasim had an influence on postmodernism in its questioning of authenticity and originality. ‘Combined with the notion of appropriation, postmodernism often took the undermining of originality to the point of copyright infringement, even in the use of photographs with little or no alteration to the original.’ -The Art Story.
Time period: Postmodernism is best understood by defining the modernist ethos it replaced – that of the ‘avant-garde’ who were active from 1860s to the 1950s. Postmodernism overturned the idea that there was one inherent meaning to a work of art or that this meaning was determined by the artist at the time of creation. Instead, the viewer became an important determiner of meaning, even allowed by some artists to participate in the work as in the case of some performance pieces.
Key characteristics/ conventions : Common targets of postmodernism and critical theory include universalist notions of objective reality, morality, truth, human nature, reason, language, and social progress. The ideas rejected by postmodernists include the idea of artistic development as goal-oriented, the notion that only men are artistic geniuses, and the outdated assumption that non-white races are inferior. Feminist art and minority art that challenged canonical ways of thinking are often included under the umbrella of postmodernism or seen as representations of it.
Artists associated: William Eggleston and Robert Rauschenberg.
Dadaism: Dada or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century. Dadasim had an influence on postmodernism in its questioning of authenticity and originality. ‘Combined with the notion of appropriation, postmodernism often took the undermining of originality to the point of copyright infringement, even in the use of photographs with little or no alteration to the original.’ -The Art Story.
Key characteristics/ conventions :
It is the movement away from modernism.
It involves the mixture of different art medium that reference political, cultural and historical issues.
The concept itself lacks rules, it’s up to the photographer to decide what messages they encode and how these messages are represented in an image.
In a way it’s initial motive was to challenge the idea of modernism.
Methods/ techniques/ processes:
Tableaux- staged photography which displays a pictorial narrative.
Intertextuality – when you include others work.
Eclecticism – the mixture of styles.
Refiguration – re-structuring an original image.
Collaboration-working alongside other artists.
Pastiche – copying an original.
Re-cycling- using materials more than once.
STYLISTIC AND CONTEXTUAL IDEAS:
The snapshot type imagery which Eggleston created throughout his career, created anecdotal meaning about everyday aspects of life. The accessible and simplistic method of his photography, such as using the Kodak’s Brownie camera, meant that his work had a personal touch to subjects he had no direct personal link with. Color also represented a multitude of themes in his work such as the contrast between the new and the old, the ordinary and extraordinary, the man-made and the natural. In many senses he was a non-conformist, associating him as a prominent figure in the postmodernist art scene. He also explored a contemporary commercial printing process of dye transfer to see the ways in which this could contribute to the representation of color and how this could become the focal point instead of the selling of lifestyle, concepts or ideas. During his career there were a few occasions where Eggleston encountered the work of Andy Worhol, exposing him to other popular forms of mediums, contributing to his experimental photography style. Eggleston’s use of the anecdotal and everyday is set apart by his focus on details such as facial expression which can be seen in the image above. Throughout his career he pushed the boundaries of documentary photography associated with the works of Robert Frank and Walker Evans. His photography effectively captured the shift of life in the South from rural to cosmopolitan societies.
In the work above we can see an example of the extreme focus which Eggleston pays to the facial expressions and body language of the subjects. There is a clear contrast in character from the youthful appearance of the woman on the right and the sickly, pale and tired lady on the right hand side of the image. There is also an overall contrast of color from the left and right with the radiant blonde hair, African print dress and the dark, flat hair and blue toned dress. There is a distinct lack of facial expression with with the woman on the left as she lays on the sofa, in a lifeless and melancholy fashion, observed by the Goddess like presence of the light haired woman. The image provokes overall feelings of conflict and change. Opposed to the typical conventions of postmodernism, this image in particular follows close conventions of Tableau and Renaissance art with the stylized body language and dramatic lighting. This image very effectively showcases the postmodernist features which Eggleston focused on within his work.
