Evocations of the Everyday: The Street Pictures of Jeff Wall
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Date
2009-12
Authors
Bell, Graham W., 1985-
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
This thesis will position the work of contemporary photographer Jeff Wall among
his peers from the 1980s until the present with an emphasis on the transition from
theoretical modes of references to the art historical canon to an inquiry into everyday
scenes through photographic constructions. Starting with the so-called "street photo,"
Mimic (1982), Wall's oeuvre has expanded in pursuit of representations of common, urban
scenes that are secretly works of fiction. Building on ideas from Roland Barthes, Douglas
Crimp, Michael Fried, Rosalind Krauss and Thierry de Duve, the argument is made that the
"street photos" have shaped Wall's larger production of photographs that question the
construction of vision in life and the media. Furthermore, his street photos have influenced
other artists working through postmodern poststructuralist ideas to reestablish the nature of
photography.
Description
ix, 68 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.
Keywords
Wall, Jeff, 1946- -- Criticism and interpretation