Andreas Gursky

    Throughout the centuries, humankind has tried to recreate the world

around him. Within that search, humans have come to learn how to capture

images through the exposure of objects to light, an art that we know today

as photography. With time, artists began to exercise the use of this new

technique not only to recreate what they see around them, but also to

express their feelings, ideas and concepts from their own point of view.

It goes without saying that each photographer has his or her own

perspectives and each photograph has a message. One of the greatest

photographers of our day is Andreas Gursky, whose through provoking original

photographs contribute to the canon of modern photography.

     "Andrea Gursky was born in 1955  in Leipzig, Germany ", within a family

of photographers, since his father and grandfather worked as commercial

photographers. Upon graduating from high school, Gursky contemplated the

idea of ​​studying psychology, however, he ended up studying visual

communication at the University of Duisburg-Essen and finally working as a

photographer. Gursky soon becomes well-known within the photographic world

for his unique style and richness in saturation and symmetry. (Galassi,

2001)

     In the beginning of his career, he would adopt the same style of his professors Hilla and Bernd Becher, characterized by themes of industrial architecture and black and white photography, however, he would soon abandon that style for his own, with scenes flooded with color, details and geometry. (MoMA, 2001)   

    His work is characterized by the use of large formats, whose main themes include industrial buildings, airports, ports, roads, building facades, industrial plants, offices, hotels, supermarkets, swimming pools, public spaces and places where there is a large concentration of people. To achieve his work, he resorts to the use of helicopters, airplanes or high rises of buildings, places from which he can capture the characteristic perspectives of his photographs.


1.- Galassi, Peter, Andreas Gursky, The Museum of Modern Art; H.N. Abrams, 2001

2.- Andreas Gursky, MoMA. https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_170_300133854.pdf



Adda Barrios

Beginning Photography: PHOTO-022-101-98181

September 15, 2019

Mini Research Project

Andreas Gursky

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Build Sitopia: Urban Gardens

     The worldwide population is currently around 7 billion, and is continuing to rise. It is projected that the population of the world will reach 9 billion by the year 2050. This massive increase in population will present a challenge regarding the question of how to feed so many people. Feeding a city is a complex process: it requires the harvesting of food, transporting, selling, purchasing, preparing, consuming and disposing of food waste. Carolyn Steel proposes that one answer to this upcoming challenge is that of the sitopia. A sitopia is an urban community built around its food system, that seeks to raise awareness among its inhabitants, encouraging them to eat healthy food and simultaneously create a balance between the needs of humans and the needs of the environment. According to Steel, "food belongs at the heart of society, not at its periphery. *" That is why we need to recognize the importance of the food in our lives, and build our cities around the places wher
Read more

Critical Thinking

  According with Jonathan Foley, feeding nine billion of people will be a big challenge for the humanity. The increment of the population by 2050 mean that we will increase the demand of meat, and in consequence we will need to double the crop production.  She thinks that we will need to balance between the demand of food, and the serious problems that the raise of the agriculture cause to the planet. Among the most dangerous complications of the agriculture that she mentions are pollution, emission of greenhouse gases, and reduction of the biodiversity. That’s why she proposes five steps that cut the environmental impact of the agriculture worldwide .    “The first step is to stop creating new farmland and instead use existing agricultural areas. This will prevent the destruction of rain forest and grasslands.”   The second step is to employ modern Tecnologies that permit reuse the existent lands. This will increase the yields on farms that are not productive.    The third step is to
Read more

Challenges for Foreign Students

     Education is a process where students acquire knowledge, skills, values, and habits. (Bradbury, 1999).  Education is a right for all human beings, and it needs to be accessible for all people without discrimination. However, in some countries, education might be difficult for some students who encounter some challenges such as lack of resources or inadequate infrastructure. In the United States, there is a huge quantity of resources and technologies; even so, foreign students face three big challenges that they need to overcome: language barriers, class schedule, and financial issues.      The first challenge is language barriers that prevent students from communicating ideas and acquiring knowledge. As a result, students cannot advance in their careers until they learn the language. For example, A foreign student in the United States must level his English skills before continuing his education in the university. To level his knowledge of English, the foreign student will have to
Read more