(Advanced) Jeff Wall

A sudden gust (after Hokusai)

He provokes anger, awe and huge prices for his controversial staged scenes of hostage situations and homeless shelters. The pioneer of ‘non-photography’ talks cliches, creative freedom – and his regrets.

“Like painting, my work is very much about composition. That is where the feeling flows – more so than in the expressions on faces or the possible social meanings. But I am not trying to imitate painting."

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Jeff Wall

elaborately staged 

spectacularly dishevelled

garishly backlit

meticulously choreographed

spectacularly hyperreal

harshly sunlit

You often find these rather florid pairings of adverbs ad adjectives in art writing. Why might that be?

Questions about the article:

1. What is the writer surprised to still find "linger(ing)" around Wall's work?

2. Why does Wall "not photograph"?

3. How have his images changed over his career?

4. What is "reportage"

5. Why might Approach be a "contentious" work?

6. Of the image entitled "Listener" Walls says:

"My work is to try and re-create the space in which this ominous event is occurring. My challenge is to photograph it properly.”

...What do you think his point is?

7. Which Nineteenth Century French painter is his big influence?

“In my time, I’ve been accused of being afraid to go out into the world to take pictures, like a so-called ‘real’ photographer does. And I’ve been accused of making art with a capital A – as if that, too, was a crime.”

8. After reading about Walls and his work, how do feel about it? What do think he's trying to do with photography?