Andreas Gursky (b 1955) is known
for his huge, interior and exterior landscape photographic works, which are
incredibly rich in detail. The photographs, often taken from an elevated
viewpoint, are taken with a large format camera. His works sell at auction for
huge, record-breaking amounts of money. The White Cube exhibition, his first in
London since 2007, features some of his more recent works including the very
recent (2013-14) “Super Hero” works and “Lehmbruck I and II”, that have not to
my knowledge been exhibited before.
The White Cube is an excellent
venue for exhibiting Gursky’s work. The large rooms, plain white walls and
functional design of the gallery space compliment the huge (up to 2.5 x 5
metre) framed prints and allow the visitor plenty of opportunity to contemplate
the incredible detail in the works.
Viewing Gursky’s art at close
quarters enables the visitor to appreciate just what it is that excites dealers
and collectors to pay huge amounts of money for his works. Prints such as
“Kirchentag” and “May Day IV”, which depict mass festival gatherings in
Germany, depict ant-like figures within a huge crowd, enabling the viewer to
study both the connections between individuals and the way in which they
integrate to produce crowd activity. In contrast, “Lehmbruck I” and “Lehmbruck
II” create tension by presenting a conundrum in the form of the distinctive
architecture of this Duisburg museum, used as a setting for a selection of
iconic works of art together with an apparent audience of a small number of
carefully placed figures (see below). I
imagine that a huge amount of time and effort must have gone into
post-production in order to finish these works, but I found it hard to tear my
eyes away from them and move on; a pointer to their efficacy, at least for this
spectator.
Andreas Gursky: "Lehmbruck I"
Also on display for the first
time is a new series of images inspired by Hollywood comic-book heroes, such as
Spider-Man, in which the heroes are placed in idealised landscapes. These works have provoked a little copyright
controversy (which will doubtless renew the phrase that “there is no such thing
as bad publicity”, although I found this section of the exhibition less
thought-provoking than others.
Two of the reflections of neon
lights on the waters of the Chao Phraya River from Gursky’s “Bangkok” series
are featured here. I have the book, but looking at the huge prints on the walls
is an altogether more satisfying experience than thumbing through them in the
book. The beautiful abstract, colourful shapes and patterns caused by the
effects of the neon lights on the swirling waters are really effective and the
individual items of human debris being carried downriver all add to the overall
pattern (In my own work with reflections on canals and slow-moving water, such
items are usually removed in post-production: I wonder whether, in Gursky’s
images, some items of debris have actually been added in post-production to
give the images more balance….).
I really enjoy looking at works
of art that challenge the viewer to interpret their meaning so “Lager”, which
incorporates parts of some of his other works within a very three dimensional,
architectural setting, was a firm favourite.
Viewing Gursky’s full sized
photographic prints enabled me to appreciate just why he has become so popular
amongst rich collectors of fine art. The scale, the incredible detail afforded
by the use of a large format camera, the clever choice of subject matter and
the (doubtless) huge amount of post-production work that went into the assembly
of each work on display here all lead to the production of objects that both
have an immediate impact, are aesthetically appealing and will constantly
reveal more with each viewing. Although there is a consistent style to his
work, the variety of Gursky’s subject matter is impressive.
Learning Points, Future Work and References
Many of Gursky’s works challenge
the viewer to interpret their meaning, but all can be enjoyed as aesthetically
appealing works of art. Presenting the viewer with an image (or series of
images) that presents a visual conundrum or encourages them to create their own
story from the image(s) creates tension and must add value to the art. This will
be particularly relevant to my own major project work and I should look to
create tension within the story board. Whilst it is not possible to know how
much digital manipulation was applied to each of Gursky’s images, some of these
works clearly exemplify how the sophisticated tailoring of post-production
techniques can produce an aesthetically appealing effect. On an inevitably
simpler scale, I could (and occasionally do) apply similar techniques to my own
work.
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