Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Jeff Wall, Jewish Russlander Photographer
Eena dee schienent Bilda aufnemmt
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| Jeff Wall by Hermann Wendler, 2007 |
IIn tracing and detailing the extent of the Russian Mennonite diaspora,
one spends a lot of time on the look-out for key names – such as Toews, Unrau,
Wiens, etc. Many names, however, exist
well beyond the diaspora – Becker, Unger, Wall, etc.
Regarding the surname Wall, I have always been intrigued by the artist
Jeff David Wall of Vancouver, British Columbia – is he of the Dutch Wall’s, the
Norwegian Wahl’s, the Irish Wall’s (who are actually Dutch) or the Mennonite
Wall’s – if he is Mennonite, is he of the Belgian Vanderwalle’s or de Walles, or of the Frisien Walde /
Waldens? Nor is Wall’s photo of any
assistance. I, for example, look just
like my father, grandfather, great-grandfather – all the way back to C.M. Wall,
the earliest for whom an image exists.
Wall does not look unlike a Dutch-Flemish Wall, but they have also,
possibly due to shared heritage, also looked suspiciously Irish.
So leaving off the Jerry Springer – Montel Williams investigatory work ,
Arthur Lubow, of the New York Times, actually published the answer to the
dilemma in his bio-piece on Jeff Wall , 25 February, 2007. In a piece title “The Luminist,” Lubow reveals that Jeff Wall, that great Canadian
photographic artist is actually – “Jewish”.
“Jewish?” one asks. “Jewish” he
says.
