Jeff Wall

In our reading, Jeff Wall tackled two topics: liquid intelligence and frames of reference. It was nice to read about an artist talking about their own work, revealing their inspirations, dislikes, and fascinations.

Wall talks about water having a deep effect on photography primarily because of its integral part of the developing process, and also because it connects photography to the passage of time. This element that we know as water has been around since the beginning of the history of our planet. "This archaism of water, of liquid chemicals, connects photography to the past, to time, in an important way. .. it embodies a memory - trace of very ancient produciton processes - washing, bleaching, dissolving...." Water connects photography to other media of art, as well as the passage of time. Wall also contrasts photography with the description of it being "dry," mostly because of its mechanical qualities. Man has no effect on the photograph being produced because it is a mechanical process, much like many of the previous debates in essays we have read this semester. "This dry part I identify with optics and mechanics." The photographer cannot create his subject from his imagination like a painter or a sculptor, the subject must be real, physical, and tangible. this makes photography dry according to Wall.

In "Frames of Reference," Wall further reveals his opinions about his art as well as others. He narrates his change of mind about what a "master" constitutes. He wanted to study photography and its relation to other art forms. "I realized I had to study other masters whose work, either in photography or in other art forms, didn't violate the criteria of photography but either respected them explicitly or had some affinity with them. "

Wall had a special interest in life size photographs and paintings. "That sense of scale is something I believe is one of the most precious gifts given to us by Western painting." Wall also studied film stills and their characteristics because a film is really just a bunch of film stills viewed in a specific order. He used these characteristics in his regular photography.