Looking up at the vast and expansive grassland, rivers and sky meet in a perfect balance, the rectangular frame cut up in perfect horizontal lines. Green grass and shimmering water of the Rhine flow through the image, creating a tranquil and isolated atmosphere. This is the masterpiece "Rhein II" by German photographer Andreas Gursky, which sold at Christie's auction in New York in 2011 for a record breaking 4.3 million US dollars (approx 120 million NT), becoming the most expensive photograph ever sold.
At first glance, the image is an ordinary country scene. In reality, Gursky made many post-production adjustments, removing the factories and pedestrians originally present, restoring the natural beauty of the landscape with fewer visual distractions. Gursky has said about this image "I wasn’t interested in an unusual, possibly picturesque view of the Rhine, but in the most contemporary possible view of it." Gursky's work has been in the spotlight as early as 2007, when his work "99 Cent II Diptychon" had also broken the record for most expensive photograph, selling at about 3.34 million USD.
You might think that it is simply through formalism that Gursky won over the public's enthusiastic response. However, the photographer needed a lot of finesse, slicing each photo at the appropriate optical angle to avoid the distortion caused by multiple photos being stitched together. After computer manipulation and composition the photographer had completed the full large-scale photograph. Though to the general public, photography may seem as simple as clicking the shutter button, but creating a beautiful image like "Rhein II" requires careful composition as well as excellent image processing and computer manipulation; Gursky's hard work and talent is worthy of his praise.
Gursky, known for his large-scale work, has been a longstanding figure in contemporary photography. He is a part of the group of photographers known as "The Dusseldorf School", and his photographs exemplify the calm objectivity that is the trademark of the school. Gursky captures images from modern society from a macro perspective, which some have said is almost like looking at society from God's perspective. Take "99 Cent II Diptychon" for example; although the image contains no people, you can see a profound sense of humanity present in consumer culture of dollar store goods. Keeping up with the times, Gursky's latest work "Amazon" focuses on the Internet supplier-giant. The image shows the huge warehouses, stocked with the commodities purchased through the Amazon website. The dizzying array of wrapping paper shows viewers the influence of e-commerce in modern society, marking a new chapter in history.
This year Gursky has a solo exhibition in the Hayward Art Gallery in London. This is his first major restrospective in the UK and an important show for the reopening of the Hayward after two years of renovations. Gursky also has work showing at London's White Cube Gallery.
Exhibition date: January 25, 2018 - April 22, 2018
Venue: Hayward Gallery, London
Exhibition date: February 7, 2018 - April 8, 2018
Venue: White Cube Bermondsey, London
Top Image: Kuwait Stock Exchange 2007 ©Andreas Gursky
Image 2 top: Rhine II 1999, which sold for $4.3 million in 2011. C-print mounted to acrylic glass,190 cm × 360 cm, Photograph: Andreas Gursky/DACS/Sprüth Magers
Image 2 bottom: Review 2015 ©Andreas Gursky, White Cube Bermondsey presents German photographer Andreas Gursky’s Rückblick (2015).
