Semiotic Analysis of Jeff Wall's Photos Using the Five Codes of Roland Barthes

Semiotics transform the artist's work into a text full of symbols that can be reinterpreted through decoding. Roland Barthes uses semiotics, in addition to explaining the meaning of the messages of these cultural creations, he also investigates the intention, the way of production, and the identity of their producers. Barthes explains how signs are transformed into meaningful systems through the use of 'Five codes' (hermeneutics, symbolic, poetic, semantic, referential, or cultural). This research is aimed at analyzing the staged photographs of Jeff Wall, a Canadian contemporary artist, using Barth's five codes. The primary objective is to read Wall's works using Barthes's approach. The type of research used in this study is semiotics and involves qualitative methods. Gathering information through a library method and viewing images. Analysis with qualitative method is based on Barthes semiotics. Selective sampling is non-random. According to this research, Jeff Wall's privileged position in the world of fine art photography is achieved through the use of symbols and the reproduction of understated concepts from art history. After using Bart's five codes to examine the photos, it was discovered that the text was read by the photographer, Bart's codes, and the audience. In codes dedicated to reading text with studious and explicit meanings, the role of the reader is weak, and in codes dedicated to written text with punctuation and implied meanings of the image, the reader has the role of creating the text. Jeff Wall's photographs can be read, interpreted, and decoded based on Barth's five codes, because on the one hand, through visual narration of his work, the photographer takes the audience with him, and on the other hand, he leads the audience to new reading and interpretation based on punctum. He forces himself; in such a way that the meaning goes beyond the level of the staged image and causes the creation of a personal and new meaning by the audience facing the work. This study suggests that more research be done on the semiotic analysis of Jeff Wall's photos. By conducting this research, we can gain a deeper understanding of the concepts and connections in Jeff Wall's photographs and gain a better understanding of their significance in contemporary art. Also, the relationship of Jeff Wall's photographs with other works of art such as painting, cinema, and literature can be examined and help us to understand the impact and differences of Jeff Wall's photographs with other works of art. Additionally, it is important to consider the significance of Jeff Wall's photographs in shaping culture and society. By examining the impact of these works on the ideals, values, and attitudes of society, it is possible to understand how Jeff Wall's photographs affect the interaction with culture and society.