Exercise: Jeff Wall. The documentary value of his work.
It wasn't until I saw the Hannah Starkey image of the small boy in front of a mirror that I understood what these photographers are trying to achieve. They are prying into the thoughts of their subjects and giving us a glimpse of what they find.
The boy, having played with weights, sees in his reflection the body of a powerful body when in reality he still only a small boy.
Wall's pictures are simulacrum and show us events which never occurred. They use real people to tell false tales in the same way as does cinema. They may be 'near documentary' in there quality but as a document is, according to the OED, .. a piece of written, printed, or electronic matter that provides information or evidence or that serves as an official record,
they cannot be seen as truly documentary.
What they do is document the wishes, fears, and realities found in peoples minds. The spooky image of the ventriloquist at the childrens party is a perfect example of how the children may actually view the dummy.
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