Andreas Gursky
Dates of Artists Life: 1955 - present
Personal Background:
Andreas Gursky is a German photographer, born in 1955. His family moved twice when he was a child - from Leipzig, to Essen, and finally to Dusseldorf in 1957. He went to the Dusseldorf School of Photography, because he was particularly interested in photography. His father and grandfather were both successful photographers, who inspired him to do the same. He has worked in the photography field since the 1980's.
Andreas Gursky is a German photographer, born in 1955. His family moved twice when he was a child - from Leipzig, to Essen, and finally to Dusseldorf in 1957. He went to the Dusseldorf School of Photography, because he was particularly interested in photography. His father and grandfather were both successful photographers, who inspired him to do the same. He has worked in the photography field since the 1980's.
Style:
Andreas Gursky's style is large format architecture and landscape color photography. This is evident in a lot of his pictures - you can see how he uses the grand scale set before him to create art. His work creates feeling of being connected to the scene being photographed, just like you've seen it before. His work documents the typical things you might see in your day-to-day life. His work also makes you think if other countries have things set up the same way the U.S. does, like stadiums or stores.
Andreas Gursky's style is large format architecture and landscape color photography. This is evident in a lot of his pictures - you can see how he uses the grand scale set before him to create art. His work creates feeling of being connected to the scene being photographed, just like you've seen it before. His work documents the typical things you might see in your day-to-day life. His work also makes you think if other countries have things set up the same way the U.S. does, like stadiums or stores.
Philosophy:
Vast, large places are of particular interest to Gursky, which engage in a regular relationship with the human population. Gursky shot his photos from elevated, areal perspectives. A straightforward, and distant observation informs his work, leaving us to create our own responses and opinions about the photographs. He has an interest in capturing the existence of globalism and consumerism as it relates to modern man. I noticed that his work seems to be borrowed from various art movements.
Vast, large places are of particular interest to Gursky, which engage in a regular relationship with the human population. Gursky shot his photos from elevated, areal perspectives. A straightforward, and distant observation informs his work, leaving us to create our own responses and opinions about the photographs. He has an interest in capturing the existence of globalism and consumerism as it relates to modern man. I noticed that his work seems to be borrowed from various art movements.
Influences:
All of Gursky's photos create a specific mood, and I wanted to try and recreate that mood, to make a more interesting composition. I noticed how the photos were capturing a sense of action. His work taught me that there is no limit of taking pictures - that you can take large-scale pictures with confidence. His work made me understand that it is okay to take pictures of basic day-to-day things, that an idea for a photo can just occur if you take photos of everyday things. Andreas Gursky pays attention to the angle at which he takes his photos, to create a sense of mood and he pays attention to the elevation of the camera to get the best shot, which inspired me to experiment with different angles at which I took the photos.
All of Gursky's photos create a specific mood, and I wanted to try and recreate that mood, to make a more interesting composition. I noticed how the photos were capturing a sense of action. His work taught me that there is no limit of taking pictures - that you can take large-scale pictures with confidence. His work made me understand that it is okay to take pictures of basic day-to-day things, that an idea for a photo can just occur if you take photos of everyday things. Andreas Gursky pays attention to the angle at which he takes his photos, to create a sense of mood and he pays attention to the elevation of the camera to get the best shot, which inspired me to experiment with different angles at which I took the photos.
Compare and Contrast:
My images differ from Gursky's because they were taken in different places, obviously, and that they are not as plain as his are. The first set of images both capture a moment at a store and they are both what you see when you go to a store. The second set have similar shades of lights and darks and they both create an emotion of warmth and acceptance. The second set differs because the lighting is a bit different. The third set is similar because they were both taken on gloomy-ish days. They are different because there are some trees in the background of the picture that I took versus the one that Gursky took.
My images differ from Gursky's because they were taken in different places, obviously, and that they are not as plain as his are. The first set of images both capture a moment at a store and they are both what you see when you go to a store. The second set have similar shades of lights and darks and they both create an emotion of warmth and acceptance. The second set differs because the lighting is a bit different. The third set is similar because they were both taken on gloomy-ish days. They are different because there are some trees in the background of the picture that I took versus the one that Gursky took.
Personal Artist Statement:
I tried to make my pictures like Andreas Gursky's, by using a large scale to compose the pictures. My pictures were all taken in different places around the city I live in. At first, I could not decide where to take the photo of a store, and I had a few stores in mind. I eventually went with this store. I was creative and I used a candle and some yellow paper to create the sunset effect that is in the second photo. I really like how the photo turned out. For the third set, I could not decide what place to go to, so I had to ask my parents if they know of a place that looks like the one in Gursky's photo. I ended up going to this river. I really enjoyed this research project and I hope I will be able to take better photos in the future, knowing the things I learned from this photographer.
I tried to make my pictures like Andreas Gursky's, by using a large scale to compose the pictures. My pictures were all taken in different places around the city I live in. At first, I could not decide where to take the photo of a store, and I had a few stores in mind. I eventually went with this store. I was creative and I used a candle and some yellow paper to create the sunset effect that is in the second photo. I really like how the photo turned out. For the third set, I could not decide what place to go to, so I had to ask my parents if they know of a place that looks like the one in Gursky's photo. I ended up going to this river. I really enjoyed this research project and I hope I will be able to take better photos in the future, knowing the things I learned from this photographer.
Sources:
1. https://www.thebroad.org/art/andreas-gursky
The Broad, 2018, www.thebroad.org/art/andreas-gursky.
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/arts/andreas-gursky-is-taking-photos-of-things-that-do-not-exist.html
Nayeri, Farah. “Andreas Gursky Is Taking Photos of Things That Do Not Exist.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Jan. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/arts/andreas-gursky-is-taking-photos-of-things-that-do-not-exist.html.
3. https://www.theartstory.org/artist-gursky-andreas.htm
“Andreas Gursky Overview and Analysis.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist-gursky-andreas.htm.
1. https://www.thebroad.org/art/andreas-gursky
The Broad, 2018, www.thebroad.org/art/andreas-gursky.
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/arts/andreas-gursky-is-taking-photos-of-things-that-do-not-exist.html
Nayeri, Farah. “Andreas Gursky Is Taking Photos of Things That Do Not Exist.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Jan. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/arts/andreas-gursky-is-taking-photos-of-things-that-do-not-exist.html.
3. https://www.theartstory.org/artist-gursky-andreas.htm
“Andreas Gursky Overview and Analysis.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist-gursky-andreas.htm.