The name Jeff Wall has become synonymous with large format. But this was before the exhibition at the Fondation Henri-Cartier Bresson (HCB) which revealed a new side of the Canadian artist, and at the same time an approach radically different from his conception of the photographic image. It’s enough to confuse anybody!
“Smaller Pictures”: the title says it all. “Smaller,” but not “Small”—a nuance which, from the start, suggests a comparison between the exhibited works and other known works by the artist who first burst onto the scene in the 1970s with large format photos. It must be noted that this was a time when photography and contemporary art didn’t mix well and when working in large format was not very widespread. As a conceptual artist, Jeff Wall complements his work with theoretical discourse which consolidates his spectacular pieces. Going against the grain, Jeff Wall imposed new codes by using large light boxes similar to backlit billboards. However, in its form as well as its content, the final result is closer to painting than photography. Jeff Wall often presents situations that bring to mind the idea of a frozen image—with a before and an after—situations which have been meticulously staged, and therefore are not realistic. For Jeff Wall, staged photography, which he also calls “cinematography,” is distinct from straight, or pure, photography. Jeff Walls also differs from his contemporaries in that he rejects the idea that there shouldn’t be any collaboration between the photographer and the photographed subject…
The small formats featured at the Fondation HCB therefore come as a surprise: dated anytime between the late 1960s to the 2010s, these images call into question the very basis of Jeff Wall’s work. As an artist who chose the human body as the scale for his work which can be more than 3 meters wide, here he gives us formats closer to 45 x 60 cm… What is surprising is not just the size of the images. It is also how they were made: spontaneously; and what they show: little things gleaned in real life, close-ups of objects, bodies, ordinary details that one tends to overlook. Is Jeff Wall also a photographer-gleaner? He doesn’t seem interested in creating an inventory or a collection, and yet…
It is disconcerting to realize that this artist has (re)discovered the basic function of photography which is documenting reality… If the undeniable aesthetic dimension of the images encased in light boxes makes the visit worthwhile, one remains critical in front of the paper prints on the second floor. This is perhaps because, at the end of the day, those “smaller pictures” fail to come to life mounted on the wall, but rather belong in a book. The publication released by Xavier Barral is worth a closer look…
Sophie Bernard
EXHIBITION
Smaller Pictures
Jeff Wall
Until December 20th, 2015
Fondation HCB
2 impasse Lebouis
75014 Paris
http://www.henricartierbresson.org
BOOK
Jeff Wall, Smaller Pictures
Texts by Jean-François Chevrier et Agnès Sire
Discussion Jeff Wall & Jean-François Chevrier
Editions Xavier Barral
19 x 24 cm, 108 pages
ISBN : 978-2-36511-078-5
35€
http://exb.fr
