Canadian artist Jeff Wall ushered in a new era in photography in the 1970s. Carefully constructing his pictures as provocative, often open-ended vignettes instead of just snapping his surroundings, and often installing the transparencies in huge light boxes illuminated by fluorescent bulbs, he produced photographs as unique objects rather than editions. He continued to explore uncharted territory, and in the early 1990s was one of the first photographers to employ digital technology in the name of art making. An excellent new monograph out this month, Jeff Wall: The Complete Edition (Phaidon; $75), details how he pioneered the use of photography as a contemporary-art form and the innovations he’s made since. The book includes his entire oeuvre, in 185 illustrations, along with his writings, interviews with him and essays by top art critics. For those with some extra pocket change, Phaidon is also publishing 100 collector’s editions, starting at $4,500, that include a signed gelatin silver print of The Fortified Door (2007).

"Beyond a Snapshot" originally appeared in the February 2010 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's February 2010 Table of Contents.