The Art of Jeff Wall

CINEMATIC PHOTOGRAPHY, THEATRICALITY, SPECTACLE: THE ART OF JEFF WALL Sharla Sava B.A., University of Toronto 1 992 M.A., University of British Columbia I996 DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the School of Communication O Sharla Sava 2005 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fa11 2005 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL NAME Sharla Sava DEGREE PhD TITLE OF DISSERTATION: Cinematic Photography, Theatricality, Spectacle: The Art of Jeff Wall EXAMINING COMMITTEE: CHAIR: Dr. Robert Anderson Dr. Richard Gruneau Senior Supervisor Professor, School of Communication Dr. Zoe Druick Supervisor Assistant Professor, School of Communication Dr. Jerry Zaslove Supervisor Professor Emeritus, Humanities Dr. Jeff Derksen Internal Examiner Assistant Professor, Department of English Dr. Will Straw External Examiner Associate Professor, Department of Art History and Communications Studies, McGill University DATE: SIMONu~~v~wrnl FRASER ibra ry DECLARATION OF PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENCE The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. 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Bennett Library Simon Fraser University Bumaby, BC, Canada ABSTRACT This dissertation examines developments in the field of art photography through a close examination of the work of Vancouver-based artist, Jeff Wall. It is concerned in particular with the development of 'cinematic photography', a practice which draws together the conventions of theatre and image in the creation of a pictorial tableau. This practice attests to the inherent tensions of the post-68 era with regard to the legacy of modernism, the onset of post-modernism and the fading viability of the avant-garde imagination. The critical reception of Jeff Wall's art rightly emphasizes the heritage of sixties vanguardism rather than the established tradition of modernist art photography. This dissertation demonstrates the way in which Wall's 'post- medium' return to pictorialism is also intended to work against sixties experimentalism, and, in particular, against the iconoclasm of Conceptual Art. It reviews the means by which the artist's position builds from cultural Marxism, the historical avant-garde, and from that trajectory of critical postmodernism which championed theatricality. Central to this study is the claim that older practices of representation, such as theatre and drama, play a crucial role in shaping the art photography of the post-68 era, and Jeff Wall's work in particular. While dominant interpretations of Jeff Wall's art have explained the rejection of sixties experimentalism as a strategic return to the 'painting of modern life', I argue that the discourse of theatricality which dates from the sixties and seventies, both pro and con, is a more productive means by which to understand the widespread return to narrative pictorialism which has occurred in contemporary art. Following ideas developed by Michael Fried, T.J. Clark and others, this dissertation connects the emergent discourse of theatricality as it occurs in the art world with social theories which address the increasingly spectacular forces of consumer society, finally returning to the formative role played by Enlightenment debates about the value of modernity as a culture of representation. Aesthetic experience is offered to the contemporary spectator as the site of an ongoing contest between the critical force of negation and the formidable appearance of , progress. Wall, Jeff, 1946 - Criticism and interpretation; Photography, artistic; Modernism (art); Vancouver - British Columbia; Visual culture For my parents, who taught me how to ask And for my brother, who taught me how to see This heaven gives me migraine. - The Gang of Four. "Natural's not in it." Ente/ranmenL/ EMI, 1979. (as quoted by T.J. Clark, in response to B. Buchloh. 1995) I am grateful for the years of support and guidance provided by my Supervisory Committee: Rick Gruneau, Zoe Druick, and Jerry Zaslove. My understanding has been helped enormously by the many formal and occasional conversations that I have had with those involved in the Vancouver art world. I would like to thank the people who generously made themselves available for interviews, particularly Serge Guilbaut, Ken Lum, and Ian Wallace. This project would not have been possible without the ongoing wisdom and comfort offered by family and friends. Thanks to my family, and to Grant Arnold, Camilla Berry, Colin Griffiths, Steve Harris, Antonia Hirsch, Fen Huang, Fiona Jeffries, Robyn Laba, Robert Linsley, Melanie OIBrian, Greig de Peuter, Sebastian Touza, and Bill Wood. I am grateful for the commitment, expertise and care taken by Frances Fournier and Richard Dancy at the SFU Archives; as well as by Monique Cloutier, Lucie Menkveld, Neena Shahani and Denyse Zenner in the SFU School of Communication. I gratefully acknowledge that portions of this project were funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and by Fellowships made available through Simon Fraser University. Thanks to the individuals and institutions that granted copyright permission and made images available for this dissertation: ADAGPISODRAC, Bob Birtch, Catriona Jeffries Gallery, Courtauld Institute, George Eastman House, lain Baxter, Ian Wallace, Jeff Wall Studio, Ken Lum, Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery at UBC, Rodney Graham Studio, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museo Nacio del Prado and the Vancouver Art Gallery. Finally, I owe a special thanks to my husband Andrew Klobucar for all his patience, love and insight. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval.. .............................................................................................................. .ii ... Abstract .................................................................................................................. 111 Dedication............................................................................................................. .v Quotation.............................................................................................................. .vi Acknowledgements.. ........................................................................................... .vii ... Table of Contents................................................................................................. VIII List of Figures........................................................................................................ ix Introduction A Critical Beauty.................................................................................................... I Chapter One Photoconceptual Art ............................................................................................ 15 Chapter Two Counter-Tradition in Vancouver Art ..................................................................... 56 Chapter Three The Relevance of the Avant-Garde ..................................................................... 91 Chapter Four Cinematic Photography..................................................................................... 136 Chapter Five The Historical Matrix of the Spectacle .............................................................. .I75 Chapter Six Elephants and Termites ..................................................................................

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