Jeff Wall

Nov 15, 2005 · Comments
bollard

If like me, you’ve only seen one or two Jeff Wall pictures in group shows before, then the current show at the Tate Modern is well worth seeing. I’m still wondering how much of my admiration for the pictures is to do with being seduced by the format (huge lightboxes) but they certainly have more interest than say Gregory Crewdson’s huge (non-lightbox) pictures. Perhaps somebody will fund me to produce some of my own pictures as lightboxes and then I’ll have a better understanding.

Possibly related posts:

• August 9, 2008: Whenever You Can
• March 23, 2006: Not Strictly London
• January 9, 2006: Time to Play
• December 17, 2005: Newly Served
• June 10, 2005: Three Bollards

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Old Comments

The comments from the previous WordPress blog.

ed nixon: I hope they do fund you. I wonder if there is an increasing prevalence of rear lighted displays in shows? Whether it has something to do with the overwhelming amount of rear lit ‘content’ we are subjected to? PC monitors, Televisions, jumbotrons, neon and on an on. Plain old paper just can’t ‘shine up’ to the incandescence of the light box effect? Another form of incipient illiteracy?

…edN

PS: How’s Interiors going? :-)

Gary: Wouldn’t those guys working on illuminated manuscripts have bound up some stained glass if they could have? I’ve always liked the richness of transparencies. Paper is just different and currently, a lot more practical but exhibiting paper behind glass doesn’t help when comparing to lit transparencies. The Jeff Wall show also has some big black and white prints - the room is like an eye rest - but a couple of them are really dark and so become mirrors.

Interiors is stalled like everything else seems to be at the moment. Coincedentally though, this evening I set up and tested a new camera support (Nodal Ninja) which I think will be helpful.

Bilbo: Ah, I think the attraction of Wall is totally the lure of the lightbox. You made me realise what it was that was making me itch about the Tate Exhibition. It’s not so much the actual pictures, as the lovely, bright silvery boxes…….as I walked around, I did think how great MY pictures would look displayed in such a way.

Mind you, the re-animated Russian Soldiers and the Invisible Man are outstanding pictures. Rest was a bit pants, I reckon.

Gary: Hi Bilbo

Well, easy to say of course but I think it’s important not to miss the fact of how carefully most of these pictures are constructed and what lengths he goes to to hide the construction. I don’t mean that you should need to understand how they were made in order to appreciate them but that your pictures as big transparencies may lack those qualities which come from the construction.

One, expensive, way to find out of course.

For what it’s worth, my own favourite is the Flooded Grave.