Vancouver School
Description
The Vancouver School of conceptual or post-conceptual photography (often referred to as photoconceptualism) is a loose term applied to a grouping of artists from Vancouver starting in the 1980s. Critics and curators began writing about artists reacting to both older conceptual art practices and mass media by countering with "photographs of high intensity and complex content that probed, obliquely or directly, the social force of imagery." No formal "school" exists and the grouping remains both informal and often controversial even amongst the artists themselves, who often resist the term. Artists associated with the term include Vikky Alexander, Roy Arden, Ken Lum, Jeff Wall, Ian Wallace, Stan Douglas and Rodney Graham. Read more ↗
Key Artists
Jeff Wall
Key pioneer of the Vancouver School who introduced large-scale backlit transparency light-boxes and staged, cinematographic photoconceptualism.
Stan Douglas
Leading Vancouver School artist working in film, video installation, and photography to investigate historical memory, media technology, and urban space.
Rodney Graham
Prominent conceptual artist of the Vancouver School whose performative self-portraits, films, and books explored loops of literature and psychology.
Ian Wallace
Foundational mentor and theorist of the Vancouver School whose 1970s and 1980s photomontages juxtaposed large monochrome painting with documentary photography.
Ken Lum
Major Vancouver School conceptual artist whose portrait photography and text installations probed cultural identity, semiotics, and social class.
Famous Artworks
Fun Facts
Although internationally celebrated under the banner 'The Vancouver School' in major surveys at the Tate and MoMA, no formal school or manifesto ever existed, and many of the artists involved openly resist the grouping.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org
Jeff Wall was originally inspired to mount his photographs inside illuminated commercial light-boxes after seeing backlit bus stop advertisements while traveling across Spain in 1977.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org