“Thomas Ruff is explaining the enduring concerns that have animated the work that has made him one of the most innovative and distinguished art photographers of recent decades: ‘I always want to take the medium of photography into the picture, so that you are always aware that you are looking at an image - a photograph,’ he says, before continuing, ‘so, in the picture I hope you can see two things: the image itself, plus the reflection - or the thinking - about photography. I hope it’s visible. I’m an investigator, and it is as if I am investigating the grammar of photography.’” - from an interview with Thomas Ruff (my emphasis)

“The grammar of photography” sounds overly theoretical and/or conceptual, but it’s very important to realize that what Ruff is talking about is not obscure or academic: He is talking about what images do, how we treat them, what they say (or don’t say), what they might mean, whether they show any kind of “truth” etc.