Re: 1986 photo sold for $3.6M


"Savageduck" <savageduck1@{REMOVESPAM}me.com> wrote in message
news:2012051512280797157-savageduck1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On 2012-05-15 11:01:57 -0700, "Dudley Hanks" <dhanks@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
said:


"RichA" <rander3127@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:e06a55f4-d72b-40eb-971e-b6395d7dece7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On May 14, 9:26 pm, Savageduck <savageduck1@{REMOVESPAM}me.com> wrote:
On 2012-05-14 16:21:35 -0700, RichA <rander3...@xxxxxxxxx> said:

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

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".


Fascinating. A staged photograph is still a photo, But so is the flag
raising at Iwo Jima, though that did take place on-scene at least and
represented a real-life action as opposed to a fabrication.



A painting produced to depict the same subject matter wouldn't ruffle any
feathers, why should a staged photograph, especially when the pic's title
clearly indicates that the photographer / artist wasn't trying to
mislead,
only to express his vision ...

Take Care,
Dudley

Agreed, the Wall work was never intended to represent actuality, it is
totally a fabricated work of art. This is more in the tradition of Goya's
"The Third of May 1808", < http://db.tt/qU0NGBOT > or Gericault's "Raft of
the Medusa" < http://db.tt/dAgbzjMQ >.

His brush was a camera. However the final work is more of a photo-montage
than a single photographic image. That removes nothing from appreciating
it as a work of art, an individual's vision, or political statement.
One must just separate Wall's work of art from traditional photography and
consider it as such, more a product of Wall's mind and camera, than a work
of photojournalism, or even studio photography.

--
Regards,

Savageduck


I think that's why I like his work so much. It's a step in the direction of
bridging the gap between photography and art.

His work definitely is in keeping with my mantra: "Beauty is in the mind,
not the eye."

Take Care,
Dudley


.

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