Andreas Gursky was my chosen artist because of his ability to make a photograph that was captivating and completely unlike any photography i’ve seen myself. Gursky was born i leipzig, germany in 1955. He was the only child of a successful commercial photographer. In the late 70’s Andreas spent two years at Folkwagschule, west Germany’s leading training site for professional photographers. In the early 80’s he attended Staatliche Kunstakademie in Dusseldorf where he studied under the renown Bernd and Hilla Becher.
My favorite photo by Gursky would be Kamiokande,2007,(slide two). The setting was a cavernous underground neutrino observatory in japan. 100,000 gold orbs covered the wall of the observatory which had a dark floor that was under 50,000 tons of water. These bulbs are so sensitive to light that they are supposed to be able to capture the light from super-novas. After that statement it is easy to imagine how they light reflects off the sensitive bulbs onto the floor of dark water. This specific work is also interesting because it doesn’t involve any real human beings. this contrasts some of his previous works. if you look close though you can see two small boats with fake men on them towards the bottom right of the photograph.
another interesting photograph of Gursky’s is bahrian I, in 2005(slide 4&5). At first it seems to bean aimless fictional race track running through the dessert but on deeper analysis you can concur that Andreas digitally manipulated the original photo to make it appear knotted. He often did ths with photos to create a mysterious and interesting outcome of the meaning of the photo.The stands in the background of the photo are the only thing holding on to reality in this picture.
Another famous photograph would be the Kuwait stock exchange II in 2008(slide 6&7). the photo consists of hundreds of brokers moving across the floor in white garments. im not sure what Gursky was trying to portray but to me it provokes a feeling of entrapment. everyone dressed exactly the same, over crowded area, and the chaos of the photo make me think of having a bad dream.
The most recent photo i dug up was Dubai World III, 2008(slide 8). the photographed material was a carpet grid system that resembled the earth. the light picks up certain elements, making some lighter than others, forming a distinct image.
The last photo ill discuss is the Los Angeles 1998(slide 9). This is where Gursky began to digitally manipulate photos. as a whole his photos are taken on huge scales and also usually involve visually appealing colors. His main themes involve our modern environment and earth.