Jeff Wall

Jeff Wall (born 1946) is both one of the most innovative and classic photographers of his generation. He became well known in the 1970s for his large-format transparencies, backlit by fluorescent lightboxes. His subject matter is varied and wide-ranging, based on situations experienced by the artist that are then recreated for the camera. Wall's combination of color prints and lightbox images, which he calls "cinematic" photographs, were completely novel and somewhat controversial when he first used them: only black-and-white photographs were considered appropriate for a serious museum exhibit. In 1996, Wall expanded his repertoire to begin producing monochrome images, further exploring the cinematographic--particularly film noir--and the aesthetics of classic photography. This volume, accompanying a Kunsthaus Bregenz exhibition, begins with these monochrome pictures and continues through the present. Many of the works are reproduced here for the first time.