Jeff Wall, Gregory Crewdson, and John Baldessari

Watching the three movies one really stood out in my mind and that was on the one with John Baldessari. He didn't make much sense to me in the movie. I would watch and listen to him I got to think, does this guy really know art? I couldn't quite wrap my brain about what he was saying, then I had to dig deeper into his art. It is all about perception. He takes items that would be magnificent art and seems to add something to it: may that either be good or not is in the eye of the beholder. At the same time he really makes you wonder, what is considered art??? I think the more we dive into it the more difficult that answer would be.

Video Response to Jeff Wall, Gregory Crewdson & John Baldessari

This video was very informative, showing off Jeff Wall's recreations and mimicry, as well as Gregory Crewdson's impressive & expensive "photography", as well as John Baldessari's work.

For me, I chose to respond to Jeff Wall's work, mainly because of something he said in the video. He said that he took no liberties with his imagery and that it was 'true'. And yet, he never shot something at the moment it existed. He re-creates it later as he remembers it, then takes liberties with it to remove someone from it because he thought that even though originally there were 4 people, he felt it looked better with 3.

So at no point was he "true" to the original as he saw it. He saw it, recreated it in his head as he chose to make it, THEN shot the picture with other people to re-enact what he chose.

So, if the original idea behind photography being that what you see is the truth, then looking at his work would mean that what you see is all completely a lie.

My question to the class is, do you feel that Jeff Wall took liberties and was untrue to the original? He seemed to contradict himself several times in the video!

Gregory Crewdson

Gregory Crewdson is an artist that goes beyond beauty. Yes, his photographs must be beautiful but, he is looking for that underlying edge – whether it is anxiety, fear, or isolation. Crewdson is a leader in the use of staged events and constructed models in his photography. He uses these big stages to conduct these moments in the narrative, he likes that a photograph restricts him to only capture one moment of the story. His photos encourage the viewers to imagine and wonder that has just happened and what is coming next. I like that all of his pictures are rich with color; there are so many different aspects to the photograph that your eye has to wander the whole image. Crewdson is very aware of every inch of his photograph which makes these images so interesting and beautiful.

- Racheal Johnson-

Video Response: Wall, Crewdson, Baldessari

Of the three artists we looked at in class, my favorite was John Baldessari, mostly because some of his work was pretty humorous. 

But to be honest, I don't consider much of these artists' work 'art'. Personally, I just don't like nude photographs, it's almost too real for me; it's not necessarily pretty to look at. 

What stood out the most to me about Baldessari's work is that in some instances, he didn't need any images to convey a message, sometimes art can be just words. 

But shouldn't there maybe be some kind of guidelines as to what is considered art?

Mayra

Wall, Crewdson, and Baldessari Video

The artist I would like to talk about is Gregory Crewdson. After watching this video segment on him, I realized that I have seen in his art before. His pictures are very elaborate and look like as if they are a freeze frame from a movie. I don't think the amount of work that goes into his pictures is really worth it. It just seems like once someone incorporates all of the fancy bells and whistles to get that perfect picture, where is the talent? Anything can be done if there is enough money to do it. His picture are great to look at, but that's it. My question to the class is: Is it fair to compare Gregory Crewdson's work to that of other photographers or should it be in a category of its own?

Chad Miltenberger

Art inspired by art and film

Sudden Gust of Wind

Jeff Wall interview & retrospective, SF MOMA

Gregory Crewdson

Crewdson Ovation TV interview

Gregory Crewdson $1million photo shoot