Abstract

This thesis addresses Jeff Wall's contentious claim that he is a painter of modern life , a term coined by 19 th century French poet and critic Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867). Jeff Wall's photographs, apparently a fusion of documentary image, historical tableaux and colourful advertisements, do fit Baudelaire's definition, especially in relation to the idea that the city is an exemplary site for aesthetic experience. And yet, Wall's characteristic cityscape, and his array of social types, are very different from the modernist model, while his very use of photography to "paint" the world around him is a key difference. The possibility of a contemporary artist fulfilling the conditions set forth by the 19 th century poet also demands, therefore, an examination into postmodern art. Wall's work shows evidence of irony, a skeptical attitude towards historical narrative, and a typically postmodern reflexivity. It is how Jeff Wall's artwork stages a series of encounters between the Modern and the Contemporary, therefore, that does indeed confirm the artist's claim to have inherited Baudelaire's mandate.