ASSIGNMENT ONE

the interaction of media For this assignment I have chosen three artists who, whilst working in the relatively modern medium of photography, approach their art in a more traditional manner by often referencing or re-presenting paintings from past masters. They seek to re-create, rather than capture the world through their photography; creating elaborate tableaux which are often the result of planning, sketches, setbuilding and elaborate staging. In re-interpreting paintings, they seek to make the concepts embodied in the painting modern again by commenting critically on society. My starting point is Thodore Gricaults Le Radeau de la Mduse [18181819] which depicts the aftermath of the wreck of the French ship Mduse; and the tragic plight of those relegated to a raft because there were insufficient lifeboats (Hirsch-Allen, 2004).

Le Radeau de la MduseThodore Gricault [18181819]

Joel-Peter Witkin American photographer Joel-Peter Witkin is reviled and revered in equal parts for his works which constantly directly reference high-art; and which are often staged using social outcasts, transsexuals or human remains (Carraway, n.d.).

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Working with analog technology, Witkin is in total control of the image creation process; from the initial sketching and staging through to the final printed image which is often marked with scratchings and stains, illustrating his manipulation of the negative in the darkroom. St George (St George, 2005, pp.206-207) questions Witkins motives for extensively referencing classical works, suggesting that when we see images which so closely resemble artwork with which we are familiar, this familiarity brings with it some form of immediate acceptance. Furthemore, she contends that by couching his images within the canon of accepted and revered artworks, he is able to gain acceptance for his images as being part of that canon1.

The Raft of George W. BushJoel-Peter Witkin [2006]

Unlike much of Witkins other work which engages with themes concerning religious belief, death, beauty or eroticism; his Ship of Fools lacks depth, seeming more of a parody or caricature. Using paid look-alikes; and local people in Albuquerque (Witkin, 2008), Witken staged this scene as a comment on the leadership of George Bush against a painted backdropa device he uses often, and which according to the MOCP alludes to the illusion of representational

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painting as well as the early tableaux vivant genre in the history of photography. (MOCP, n.d.) Witkins recreaction closely resembles Gricaults painting in terms of the position and poses of the people, however rather than commenting on the plight of the abandoned; he has transformed it into a more literal sinking ship under the leadership of Bush.

Grard Rancinan An experienced photojournalist; Rancinan has recently opted not just to document life, but to re-create, and in doing so, comment on the human condition. Describing his work as borderline-kitsch (FutureTense, 2012), he aims to create images which illustrate connections between classic art and contemporary reality (YouTube, n.d.). His images are easily read; functioning at a level which is accessible to most who see them; but beyond the initial visual impact, he hopes to provoke or shock the viewer into reflection.

The Raft of IllusionsGrard Rancinan [2008]

In contrast to Witkins image, Rancinans hyper-real image engages directly with the themes of race and immigration as addressed in Gricaults painting (HirschAllen, 2004, p.7). Adopting an approach similar to of Jeff Wall; Rancinan has chosen to create and display his large2 mis-en-scene in a manner which recalls the paintings of the artists he references. At this size, his images confront the

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spectator, dramatically highlighting social concerns, politics, violence, popular culture and economic issues. In The Raft of Illusionsfrom the series MetamorphosesRancinan draws attention to the plight of the refugee, who in search of a better life in the promised land is prepared to risk all on a makeshift raft. According to Caroline Gaudriault (Gaudriault, 2008), a journalist who works very closely with Rancinan, the persons within the tableau were specifically drawn from nations experiencing the trauma of immigration and refugee status. Although Rancinans depiction closely replicates that of Gricault, he has chosen to comment further on modern society and commodity culture by including fragments of branded designer clothing, bling and the logos of global brands. The famous landmarks of the Hollywood sign and Eiffel Tower on the horizonas aspirational symbols and beacons of hopereplace the Argus, the ship which rescued the survivors.

Jeff Wall Jeff Walls approach to photography has been heavily influenced by both Western painting and the cinematic3, with his active interest in creating large photographs coming after visits to European galleries. Although fascinated by photography; when compared to large-scale paintings, he felt that photographs were made to be seen in books or albums; (SFMOMA, 2006). He wanted to make colour photographs at the scale of the human body or painting (Krief, 2000); that could be confronted in the same manner as paintings were confronted in the museum or gallerywhere it could be viewed simultaneously by a number of people4 (Tate, 2005a). This approach to photography also influenced the medium he has used extensively for the display of his images. Once again, this is said to have been influenced by his European trip, where on seeing illuminated advertising signs, he realised that this medium would enable him to bring a luminosity to his images (SFMOMA, 2006)5. Wall refers to his image-making as cinematographyreferring both to the look and feel of his images; and their production, which is an act of collaboration,

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necessitating the use of plans, performers and even invented spaces in an approach similar to that of a film director.

Dead Troops Talk (A Vision After an Ambush of a Red Army Patrol near Moqor, Afghanistan, Winter, 1986)Jeff Wall [1992]

The least mimetic, and potentially the most complex re-interpretation of Gricault historic painting, is that of Jeff Walls Dead Troops Talk6. Wall maintains that the initially pre-conceived image had no relation to painting7, but says that as it developed, he became aware of the relationship between his intended image and the Gricault painting (Tate, 2005b). Echoes of Gricaults painting can be found in both the positioning of some of the soldiers; and in the abandonment of the soldiers by the Russian government. Created entirely in the studio, with a set designed and built to imitate the geography of Afghanistan, this was the second image in which Wall completely embraced the coming of the digital age, and used photo-montage to stitch together the resultant image (Krief, 2000). By staging and shooting individual groupings and compositing the image, Wall ironically worked in a way that paralleled the way in which a painter would work on separate parts of a painting (Schwander, 2009, p.93).

Works Cited Carraway, A. (n.d.) Sublimating the Tableau of Joel-Peter Witkin. [Online]. slideshare.net. Available from: http://www.slideshare.net/AlexCarraway/sublimating-the-tableau-of-joelpeter-

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witkin [Accessed: 24 November 2012]. de Duve, T. (2009) The Mainstream and the Crooked Path [1996]. In: Jeff Wall: The Complete Edition. London, Phaidon Press. pp. 1035. FutureTense (2012) The Wonderful World of Grard Rancinan. [Online]. 30 May 2012. thefuturetense.net. Available from: http://www.thefuturetense.net/thewonderful-world-of-gerard-rancinan/ [Accessed: 16 July 2013]. Gaudriault, C. (2008) The Raft of Illusions. [Online]. March 2008. www.gaudriault.com. Available from: http://www.gaudriault.com/v1/spip.php?article66&lang=en [Accessed: 20 July 2013]. Hirsch-Allen, J. (2004) The Raft of the Medusa: An Analysis of Gricaults Portrayal of Race, Politics and Class. [Online]. 15 March 2004. individual.utoronto.ca. Available from: http://individual.utoronto.ca/jake/docs/classes/RaftofMedusa.pdf [Accessed: 6 July 2013]. Krief, J.-P. (2000) Contacts Vol IIJeff Wall. Paris, Arte Video. Marien, M.W. (2010) Photography: A Cultural History. 3rd edition. London, Laurence King. MOCP (n.d.) Joel-Peter Witkin. [Online]. mocp.org. Available from: http://www.mocp.org/detail.php?type=related&kv=7876&t=people [Accessed: 27 June 2013]. Opera-Gallery (2011) Rancinan In London. [Online]. September 2011. operagallery.com. Available from: http://www.operagallery.com/catalogues/rancinan_london/cata.pdf [Accessed: 15 July 2013]. Osborne, P. (2009) Art after Photography, after Conceptual Art [2002]. In: Jeff Wall: The Complete Edition. London, Phaidon Press. pp. 146179. Sava, S. (2006) Cinematic Photography, Theatricality, Spectacle: the Art of Jeff Wall. [Online]. Simon Fraser University. Available from: http://summit.sfu.ca/system/files/iritems1/7817/etd2053.pdf. Schwander, M. (2009) Restoration [1994]. In: Jeff Wall: The Complete Edition. London, Phaidon Press. pp. 98111. SFMOMA (2006) Jeff Wall on the Influence of painting. [Online]. December 2006. sfmoma.org. Available from: http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/multimedia/videos/244 [Accessed: 8 July 2013]. Sontag, S. (2002) Looking at War. The New Yorker. pp.8298. St George, J. (2005) Visual codes of secrecy : photography of death and projective identification. [Online]. 2005. Available from: http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=0&article=1454&context=t heses&type=additional [Accessed: 9 July 2013].

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Stallabrass, J. (2010) Museum Photography and Museum Prose. New Left Review. (65), 133. Tate (2005a) Jeff Wall: Artist's Talk. [Online]. October 2005a. tate.org.uk. Available from: http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/video/jeff-wall-artiststalk [Accessed: 26 June 2013a]. Tate (2005b) Question 2: Does the picture relate to 19th century history painting? [Online]. October 2005b. tate.org.uk. Available from: http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/video/jeff-wall-photographs-19782004-dead-troops-talk-0 [Accessed: 3 July 2013b]. Witkin, J.-P. (2008) Poetic Realism. [Online]. 2008. edelmangallery.com. Available from: http://www.edelmangallery.com/artiststalk.htm [Accessed: 15 May 2013]. YouTube (n.d.) Gerard Rancinan. [Online]. YouTube. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VEz4xbX0r8 [Accessed: 12 July 2013].

Stallabras (Stallabrass, 2010, p.9) also points to Walls transcription of paintings in his images as a way of ensuring a familiarity and sense of seriousness which would encourage acceptance of his photography as art; and as art destined for the museum or gallery walls. The Raft of Illusions measures 217 x 320 cm (Opera-Gallery, 2011, p.8) Prior to adopting the photograph as a means of artistic expression, Wall had been involved in various aspects of the cinema. This included screenwriting, working as a film programmer at Vancouvers Pacific Cinematheque, writing critical essays on film, and an abandoned attempt at film making with Rodney Graham and Ian Wallace in 1973. (Sava, 2006, pp.166-171) It seems obvious that from the outet, Wall had decided that the place in which his images would be viewed was in the museum or art gallery (Stallabrass, 2010, p.9). In addition to emulating the size of large-scale paintingsthe majority of his images are unique or limited to short editions and an artists proof; he has opted to use a mediumthe backlit transparencythat is expensive and does not lend itself to reproduction (Stallabrass, 2010, p.7). Im thinking of the first chapter in John Bergers Ways of Seeing; and the essay by Benjamin The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction;and wondering whether Walls decisions were made in relation to this and our perception of the work of art? Suggestions that Walls adoption of the large-scale lightboxes were a means of occupying a social or urban space are refuted by Wall who states that lightboxes and their scale are not an engagement with billboards or advertising,

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but rather they are connected with the traditions of picture making (Osborne, 2009, p.154)which I assume is the connection with size and luminosity as mentioned in my essay. He also rejects the idea that the lightboxes, derived from the lit advertising boards are critical objects pitched against advertising (Stallabrass, 2010, p.3)
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The discovery that this image had a strong connection with the Gricault painting required a restructuring of my assignment. I had orginally intended to look at Tom Hunters The Way Home which references Millaiss Ophelia; Jeff Walls Picture for Women; and the Witken included in the assignment. However, I could not get to grips with Picture for Women, despite reading David Campanys Jeff Wall:Picture for Women; and listening to a number of videos/talks, both on the Tate and the Afterall book publisher site. I decided to look for another Jeff Wall image and chose Dead Troops Talkas it seemed different to most of his other work. It was only once I had got into my research that I discovered the connection to the Gricault; and decided that I would use the painting as a common ground. Guessing where Wall has found inspiration for an image seems to have become a game which art writers and critics like to play. Whilst Sontag (Sontag, 2002, p.98) cites Goya, and Marien points to Antoine-Jean Gros Napoloen on the Battlefield at Eylau [1808] (Marien, 2010, p.410); de Duve suggests we forget ignore references to the art of the 'grandes machines', Baron Gros, Repin and Meissonier; and the classical pyramid construction in the image on Cezanne and Cezannes reference to the bulge in his own paintings, which de Duve calls in Walls image an 'optically-swollen space (de Duve, 2009, p.22)

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