Biography of Andreas Gursky

CREATING IMAGES THAT SUGGEST MAPPING STILLS FROM OUTER SPACE OR CYBER-TECHNOLOGY. SOMETIMES COMPUTER MANIPULATED, HIS IMAGES OF CORPORATE ARCHITECTURE, ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEMPLATIONS SUCH AS PEBBLY EARTH, AND MASS GROUPS OF PEOPLE FREEZE-FRAMED MID-MOTION OFTEN REFERENCE THE GEOMETRIC FORMS OF MINIMALIST ART AND THE "ALLOVER" QUALITY OF A JACKSON POLLOCK PAINTING. OUR EYES DANCE ACROSS HIS DENSE, OFTEN SLIGHTLY ABSTRACTED IMAGES, WHICH DISPLAY STRONG FORMAL ELEMENTS AS THEY BLEND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN NATURE, CULTURE, AND TECHNOLOGY. HE IS PARTICULARLY CONCERNED WITH CAPTURING MOTION AND CREATING A MOMENT OF STILLNESS IN THAT SPACE. HIS WORK IS "AS MUCH AKIN TO THE PHYSICS OF MOTION AS IT IS TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF CONVERGENCE." LET'S ENTERTAIN FEATURES A LARGE PHOTOGRAPH OF A MASS OF YOUTHFUL PARTYGOERS TITLED MAY DAY III. THIS HAZY, OVERCAST IMAGE EVOKES FILM STILLS, APOCALYPTIC IMAGININGS, MASS DEMONSTRATION NEWS DOCUMENTS, AND OTHER ASSOCIATIONS FROM OUR COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS. ONE CRITIC COMMENTED THAT GURSKY'S IMAGES "DEPICT SOCIAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL STRESSPOINTS... INVOLVE PEOPLE WHO ARE DRAWN INTO A KIND OF GEOGRAPHICAL OR SOCIAL UNITY, IF AN IMPERFECT ONE." THIS MASS GATHERING OF RAVERS SUGGESTS THAT SOME OF US ARE CAUGHT IN A MOMENT WHEN CULTURAL TROPES SUCH AS MUSIC PRESENT THE ONLY VIABLE AND DESIRABLE OPPORTUNITY FOR COLLECTIVE ENGAGEMENT. POLITICS HAS BEEN USURPED BY CULTURE AND IDENTITIES ARE FORMED THROUGH THESE MOMENTS OF COMMON ECSTATIC ABANDON. THROUGH HIGHLY DRAMATIC MEANS, GURSKY AT ONCE DOCUMENTS AND REMAPS THIS PARTY AS AN INSTANCE OF PROMISE, FAILURE, CONFUSION, AND HOPE. WRITE OUT WHAT I THINK::I WAS INITIALLY DRAWN TO THIS SERIES OF PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE DUST JACKET ILLUSTRATION WHICH IS A SOMEWHAT UNUSUAL COMPOSITION FOR GURSKY, IT TURNS OUT. I WAS TOUCHED IMMEDIATELY BY THE SPARSE, GEOMETRICALLY PLEASING LANDSCAPE RUNNING ON ENDLESSLY IN A STRIATED BANNER OF PERFECTLY MATCHED COLOUR. THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER 'NATURALISTIC' STUDIES INCLUDED IN THIS PORTFOLIO OF 76 PLATES BUT MOST OF THE WORK EXAMINES THE CONTROLLED CHAOS OF URBAN SETTINGS, OFTEN FEATURING COUNTLESS HUMANS PERAMBULATING POINTLESSLY IN ENDLESS MOTION. "BEING MODERN CAN ALSO INVOLVE THE DANGER OF LOSING ONE'S INDIVIDUALITY AND RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION," MARIE LUISE SYRING REMINDS US. GURSKY WORKS ON THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN PAINTING AND ART PHOTOGRAPHY. HE TESTS AND RETESTS THE CRITICAL DISTINCTIONS SEEMINGLY INHERENT TO THESE TWO REPRESENTATIONAL DOMAINS. THUS MANY, BUT NOT ALL, OF GURSKY'S PHOTOGRAPHS SEEM TO HAVE AN EXPLICITLY CLINICAL ORIENTATION. HE IS PROBING A FRAGILE BOUNDARY AND WE KNOW IT. THE COLD TRUTH WHICH EMANATES FROM A STARK OBJECTIFICATION OF THE SUBJECT MATTER WHICH COMPELS GURSKY IS HOWEVER ALWAYS BALANCED BY THE WAY IN WHICH HE FLOODS HIS OVERRUN VISUAL FIELDS WITH LIGHT AND RIOTOUS COLOUR. THAT I MIGHT PERSONALLY PREFER THE WARMER EMOTIONAL TONES OF HIS NATURALISTIC WORK TO THE HARSHER ELEMENTS OF THE CITYSCAPES IS OF COURSE HARDLY THE POINT. ALL OF HIS WORK MAKES YOU THINK! AND SOMETIMES GASP AT THE SHEER EXCESS OF TALENT AND TECHNIQUE WHICH PROPELS THE CREATION OF SUCH INTENSELY INTELLIGENT, BEAUTIFUL ART. THIS DOCUMENT WAS DOWNLOADED FROM COURSEWORK.INFO - THE UK'S COURSEWORK DATABASE - HTTP://WWW.COURSEWORK.INFO/