About: Andreas Gursky
Andreas Gursky was born in East Germany in 1955 but moved to West Germany in 1957. He studied under Bernd and Hilla Becher which greater impacted his own style of photography. From them he adopted the love of taking pictures of industrial settings as well as architecture. Gursky did not use any additional editing to his pictures during the 1990's but now relies on it to elevate his pictures. In the majority of Gursky's photos the picture is taken from a elevated position angled down on the subject. Throughout looking at his pictures there are a few common themes: they are taken in a large scale, they are packed full of color, and the object or objects take up most if not all of the photo. In quite a few of Gursky's photos the principle of pattern is captured.
Andreas Gursky was born in East Germany in 1955 but moved to West Germany in 1957. He studied under Bernd and Hilla Becher which greater impacted his own style of photography. From them he adopted the love of taking pictures of industrial settings as well as architecture. Gursky did not use any additional editing to his pictures during the 1990's but now relies on it to elevate his pictures. In the majority of Gursky's photos the picture is taken from a elevated position angled down on the subject. Throughout looking at his pictures there are a few common themes: they are taken in a large scale, they are packed full of color, and the object or objects take up most if not all of the photo. In quite a few of Gursky's photos the principle of pattern is captured.
Identification and Critique
This picture was taken by Andreas Gursky in 1999 in Los Angeles, California. It was taken inside a 99 cent store thus giving the picture its title, "99 cent." Within this picture we see the principles of color and leading lines which captivate our eyes. What is mind blowing to me is the amount of color and just the overwhelmingness of the picture. While looking at it, it almost makes me feel dizzy.
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Reflection |
Titled "Shanghai" was taking in 2000. With this picture we can see Andreas's appreciation for large scaled, more anonymous, and manmade things. We see these three themes running through his photos a lot. Once again he represents the principles of color and leading lines/diagonals in this photo. Leading our eyes from one side of the picture to the other, he captures leading lines perfectly.
Different from the other two photos I chose, the principle that is displayed in this picture is framing. Focusing in on the water instead of the land, this photo is properly titled "ocean II." It is the second installation in a four part series, taken in 2010. It was brilliant and extremely creative of him to photograph the water instead of the land, while still using the land to frame the image.
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By researching Andreas Gursky and looking at his work it has inspired me greatly and opened my eyes to yet another style of photography. I was amazed by how much he could fit into one picture and how explosive the colors were. On the other hand in some of his pictures he could keep it simple and clean. His unique approach to photographer and thee things he photographs has inspired me to try to make everyday things, that most would consider insignificant, beautiful. In my recreation of his style I photographed my kitchen cabinets from an elevated angle. This also represents how Gursky has repetition or pattern in most of his pictures.
Resources
https://www.artsy.net/artwork/andreas-gursky-99-cent-ii
https://www.artsy.net/artist/andreas-gursky
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Gursky
https://www.artsy.net/artist/andreas-gursky
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Gursky