Andreas Gursky

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Andreas Gursky in March 2013 in the Düsseldorf Museum K21

Andreas Gursky (born January 15, 1955 in Leipzig ) is a German photographer . The digital image processing and the extreme large format are characteristic means of expression alongside the dedicated color photography. He is one of the world's most successful contemporary photographers.

Life

Andreas Gursky was born to Rosemarie (1926–2019) and Willy Gursky (1921–2016). His father, like his grandfather Hans (1890–1960), was an advertising photographer . Willy Gursky had been running a studio in Leipzig since 1949. In 1955 the family fled the GDR and settled in Düsseldorf .

Gursky studied visual communication with Michael Schmidt at the University of Essen from 1978 to 1981 . Following Otto Steinert's teaching , Gursky consciously chose Essen as a place of study. He only saw Steinert in a few lectures, as he died shortly after Gursky's start of studies. This was followed by studies at the Düsseldorf Art Academy with Bernd Becher , whose master class he was from 1985. He completed his studies in 1987. Andreas Gursky, like the well-known German photographers Axel Hütte , Jörg Sasse , Thomas Struth , Candida Höfer and Thomas Ruff, belongs to the group of Becher students, for whom the term Düsseldorfer Photoschule was coined.

From 1995 to 2007 he and the photographer Nina Pohl were married, with whom he also created a joint work. The work fetched over $ 600,000 at Christie's London on February 6, 2002 . In 2002 he photographed the cover photo of Reich & sexy II , a best-of album by the band Die Toten Hosen, with Pohl .

Andreas Gursky was elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2007.

In the 2010 summer semester he was appointed professor for “Free Art” at the Düsseldorf Art Academy .

In 2012 he was appointed a member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and Arts .

General information about his works

Andreas Gursky began his artistic work with small-format photographs, but found large formats in the late 1980s and electronic image processing in the early 1990s. The influence of Bernd and Hilla Becher's documentary practice is unmistakable . Like his teachers, Gursky takes a conceptual approach, but unlike them he turns to a variety of objects with his large format camera . He photographs u. a. Landscapes, architecture and interiors. Gursky photographs in color , using the color rather cautiously and using the technical possibilities of the large format to achieve a high level of precision in the image, but using the tool of computer-aided image processing to intervene in the image. In numerous recordings, he creates artificial effects based on montages.

The assembly in Gursky's factory

In a 1998 interview Gursky compares his works with painting : "It might be for you an art historian . Interesting to find out why an art history lowbrow artists like I still have access to this form vocabulary" His self-image as a photographer and painter becomes even more apparent when he in 1992 begins to demonstratively process digital images through montages. His work entitled Montparnasse , created in 1993, combines all the possibilities that Gursky draws from digital photography: ornamental structure, crowds, homogeneous surfaces. This multi-story building is too big to be photographed as a whole. Gursky photographed both parts of the house and, in the final stages, copied them side by side using digital means. A picture montage that impresses with its flatness and gives the viewer a feeling of flat, lifeless ornamental structures. However, if you take a closer look at the structure, which appears to be so homogeneous, completely new perceptions emerge. People, facilities and actions are recognized behind the window panes. Events take place that were all captured in one and the same picture and thus bring photography to life. A later example of such a procedure is the picture Mayday V from 2006, which was taken during the annual techno party Mayday in Dortmund and which makes Westfalenhalle 1 appear as an 18-story tower. “My pictures are always composed from two sides. From extremely close-up, they can be read down to the smallest detail. From a distance they become mega-signs. "In the words of Hanno Rauterberg , the monumentality of the pictures demands distance, but at the same time their richness of detail demands closeness and intimacy:" Many Gursky works work like a microscope: What seemed familiar and clearly arranged , leads a surprisingly teeming life in the close-up. "

Gursky's claim to realism

In the recording of a concert by Madonna with the title Madonna I , for example, he digitally enlarges the audience and thus causes irritation about the reality of the image. Also in the series F1 pit stop , different in the wide-format laser prints in four pictures pit stops of the Formula 1 are each copied Gursky plays with the objectivity that characterized the photography for a long time. All images are crossed by montages and repetitions. On the surface, Gursky reveals the structural order. Everything is a strictly structured composition . Objects and spaces are forced into a pattern by horizontal lines, everything appears homogeneous. And yet "errors" cheat their way into the serial repetition. “The uncanny repetition of what is not quite the same in a picture refers [...] to a pictorial quality in photography that does not simply depict.” Here Andreas Gursky plays with the concept of the objectivity of photography . His obvious montages show that there is no such thing as a “valid image”, no valid scene photographed. His claim to truth is that an event took place, but the way in which this event is captured in photographs is very variable. "Any claim to truth in [my] pictures can only be satisfied to the extent that a certain event took place in the here and now," says Gursky and shows that he does not ascribe any authenticity to his pictures. His claim to realism in photography is only that “that something was there.” His montages and image compositions address the relationship between being and appearance, truth and staging and lead us to a re-evaluation of the role of artistic photography in the digital age.

Andreas Gursky
Rhein II
digitally processed photograph
185.4 × 363.5 cm
private collection
Link to the picture
(please note copyrights )

So if media-critical processes are in the foreground here, he turns critically to the world of consumption and production with other subjects (e.g. with the photograph of a Prada shoe store, in which the presentation of the goods itself is iconographic ). All of his works have questions about modernity in common, be it consumption, architecture, landscape design or pop culture. His distant gaze, reinforced by the precision of the large format of the camera, refers to the anonymity of modern existence and the interchangeability of places and places in modern industrial societies.

Art market

His photographs achieve top prices on the international art market. The Rhein II photograph (1999) achieved a record value of $ 4.3 million on November 8, 2011 at Christie's New York (around EUR 3.19 million at the rate at the time), making it at times the most expensive photograph in history.

Previously, photography had already achieved 99 cents (2001) on May 10, 2006 at Sotheby’s 2.26 million dollars. On November 16 of the same year, an anonymous bidder for the 99 Cent II diptych at an auction by Phillips de Pury & Company in New York paid $ 2.48 million. In February 2007, the price for a print of this motif had risen to $ 3.3 million.

Gursky's works are in the possession of international museums and private collections. He is represented by the Sprüth Magers , White Cube and Gagosian Gallery galleries .

Exhibitions (selection)

Prices

literature

chronologically

  • Andreas Gursky. Museum Kunstpalast Foundation, Düsseldorf, texts by Beat Wismer, Hans Irrek and John Yau, Steidl, 2012, ISBN 978-3-86930-554-7 .
  • Andreas Gursky at Louisiana. Texts by Poul Erik Tøjner and Frederik Stjernfelt, Hatje Cantz 2012, ISBN 978-3-7757-3297-0 .
  • Andreas Gursky. Texts by Norman Bryson and Werner Spies , Rizzoli 2010, ISBN 978-0-8478-3643-7 .
  • Martin Hentschel (Ed.): Andreas Gursky. Works 80-08. Exhibition catalog. Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Moderna Museet Stockholm, Vancouver Art Gallery, Ostfildern 2008, ISBN 978-3-7757-2338-1 .
  • Beate Söntgen: On the verge of the event. The afterlife of the 19th century in Andreas Gursky's F1 pit stop series. In: Kunstmuseum Basel: Andreas Gursky. Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern 2007.
  • Thomas Weski (Ed.): Andreas Gursky - Exhibition Andreas Gursky at Haus der Kunst, Munich, February 17 to May 13, 2007 . Snoeck Verlagsgesellschaft, 2007, ISBN 978-3-936859-50-8 .
  • Kunstmuseum Basel (ed.): Andreas Gursky . Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern 2007, ISBN 978-3-7757-2019-9 .
  • Christiane Hoffmans: Art in the German clubhouse. Andreas Gursky and Claus Föttinger set up a World Cup bar in the Sies + Höke gallery in Düsseldorf. In: Welt am Sonntag , No. 24 of June 11, 2006, p. 72 - also online .
  • Bienal de Sao Paulo, Andreas Gursky, 'Traveling Eye - An Encyclopedia of the modern Metropolis', Essay Hans Irrek, Sao Paulo, 2002.
  • Peter Galassi: Andreas Gursky - Exhibition Andreas Gursky at the Museum of Modern Art , New York, March 4 to May 15, 2001 . Translation: Hinrich von Haaren. Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern-Ruit 2001, ISBN 3-7757-1052-3 .
  • Anette Hüsch: Artistic concepts at the transition from analog to digital photography .
  • Architecture without Shadow, edited by Gloria Moure, Andreas Gursky Essay 'Shakespears Stage' by Hans Irrek, Poligrafia, Barcelona 2000, ISBN 84-343-0911-4 .
  • Anette Hüsch: Terribly beautiful. On the relationship between body, material and image in post-photography. In: Contributions to art and media theory. Projects and research at the Karlsruhe University of Design. Hans Belting, Ulrich Schulze (eds.), Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern 2000.
  • Marie Luise Syring (Ed.): Andreas Gursky. Photographs from 1984 to the present day. Exhibition catalog, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf . Munich 1998.
  • Wolfsburg Art Museum: Andreas Gursky - Photographs 1994–1998 . Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern 1998, ISBN 3-89322-425-4 .
  • Rooseum Malmö: Andreas Gursky. Essay Hans Irrek. Malmö 1995, ISBN 91-88090-15-9 .
  • Portikus Frankfurt: Andreas Gursky - Montparnasse. Essay by Hans Irrek. 1995, ISBN 3-928071-24-6 .
  • Fiona Bradley (Ed.): Andreas Gursky: Pictures. Exhibition catalog of the Tate Gallery Liverpool. Stuttgart 1995.
  • Zdenek Felix (Ed.): Andreas Gursky. Photographs 1984–1993. Exhibition catalog, Deichtorhallen Hamburg. Munich 1994.
  • UKS Forum 3-4: Andreas Gursky - Niemeyer Scetch Essay Hans Irrek. Oslo 1994, pp. 26-33.

Movie

Web links

Commons : Andreas Gursky  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Article about Gursky at hr-online  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (unavailable)@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.hr-online.de  
  2. ↑ Obituary notice for Rosemarie Gursky. In: RP-Online. March 9, 2019, accessed March 11, 2019 .
  3. ^ Obituary: Family mourns Willy Gursky. In: RP-Online. December 27, 2016, accessed December 27, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Michael Kohler: Generation Gursky . In: art The art magazine . Gruner and Jahr, August 3, 2012, ISSN  0173-2781 ( online [accessed July 30, 2012]). Online ( Memento of the original dated December 8, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.art-magazin.de
  5. ↑ The subjective photographer. In: Kulturstiftung.de. Retrieved August 12, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Andreas Gursky, Nina Pohl: Untitled V . 1999.
  7. ^ Honorary Members: Andreas Gursky. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed March 11, 2019 .
  8. ↑ New members of the NRW Academy appointed ( Memento of the original from May 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Message on the website of Westdeutscher Rundkfunk from May 16, 2012.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wdr3.de
  9. ↑ Beate Söntgen: At the edge of the event. The afterlife of the 19th century in Andreas Gursky's F1 pit stop series . In: Kunstmuseum Basel, Beate Söntgen, Nina Zimmer (ed.): Andreas Gursky . 3. Edition. Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern 2007, ISBN 978-3-7757-2019-9 .
  10. ↑ Florian Heine: With the eyes of painters: arenas of art rediscovered . Bucher, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-7658-1612-3 , Mayday V.
  11. ^ Frank Nicolaus: Andreas Gursky: Reporter des Weltgeistes . February 26, 2007 ( online ).
  12. ^ Hanno Rauterberg: Photography: Gursky, Gursky above all. In: Zeit Online. January 19, 2012, accessed August 12, 2016 .
  13. ↑ Beate Söntgen: At the edge of the event. The afterlife of the 19th century in Andreas Gursky's F1 pit stop series . In: Kunstmuseum Basel, Beate Söntgen, Nina Zimmer (ed.): Andreas Gursky . 3. Edition. Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern 2007, ISBN 978-3-7757-2019-9 , p. 49 .
  14. ↑ Beate Söntgen: At the edge of the event. The afterlife of the 19th century in Andreas Gursky's F1 pit stop series . In: Kunstmuseum Basel, Beate Söntgen, Nina Zimmer (ed.): Andreas Gursky . 3. Edition. Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern 2007, ISBN 978-3-7757-2019-9 , p. 62 .
  15. ↑ Christopher Williams-Wynn: Images of Equivalence: Exchange-Value in Andreas Gursky's Photographs and Production Method . In: Photography and Culture . tape 9 , no. 1 , January 2, 2016, ISSN  1751-4517 , p. 3–24 , doi : 10.1080 / 17514517.2016.1153264 .
  16. ^ Andreas Gursky's Rhein II sets photo record. In: bbc.co.uk. BBC News, November 11, 2011, accessed August 12, 2016 .
  17. ↑ Christies. In: christies.com. Retrieved August 12, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Gursky, Andreas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German photographer
DATE OF BIRTH January 15, 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Leipzig