Re: 1986 photo sold for $3.6M

On 2012-05-14 16:21:35 -0700, RichA <rander3127@xxxxxxxxx> said:

http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/05/09/jeff-wall-dead-troops-say-3-6-million/

There are a few things to consider about this image.
First, it is not a photographic work of photo-journalism representing events as they were seen by the photographer. It is a work of art created with much photo-manipulation and staging. From that point of view it seems disingenuous to represent it purely as a photograph. It is a work of art where photography was a tool. It is not a photograph a traditional photographer would produce.

It is in fact a digitally manipulated montage produced in 1992, by photographing actors in the studio in individual poses, and then assembled from sections digitally. It is presented as a transparency in a lightbox. Although it appears realistic, it is a work of pure fiction.
In 2003 Susan Sontag referred to this image as "the opposite of a document". It is doubtful the outdoor scene was within 4,00 miles of Afghanistan.

Secondly it is not an 1986 photo, but an artistic depiction of a non-event. It was produced, in the literal sense, in 1992, with the title, "A Vision after an Ambush of a Red Army Patrol Near Moquor, Afghanistan, Winter 1986".

Here it is a little larger:
< http://db.tt/dhvCjYjJ >


--
Regards,

Savageduck

.

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