Andrea Gursky ( born January 15, 1955 ) is a German photographer and Professor at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf, Germany. His photograph style involves a large format architecture and landscapes, often taken from high or elevated point of view. In all of his photographs, I can see that they are very minimalist using lines as the main element. He was highly influenced by his teachers, Hilla and Bernd Becher.
Hilla and Bernd Bercher's photographs
Andreas Gursky's photographs
I can see the influence from Hilla and Bernd Bercher on Gursky's photographs. Even though the subject is different, Gursky photographs a lot of architectural or man-made landscapes in large format in modular format. A lot of lines were used and that really gives the photo a strong personality.
The Rhine II
This piece of photograph is considered to be the most expensive photograph in the world, it was sold at a price of £2.7 million on an auction at Christie's New York. A lot of sources said that it was because the photograph is not just a photograph, it can be considered as a piece of art. Further with only 6 collections of the series, it became almost as rare as Pablo Picasso's paintings. Gursky's photos are so detailed and technical, it need months to set up in advance and require a lot of adjustment to get right.
I really respect Gursky for being able to produce such work. When I look into The Rhine II, I feel very calm and composed. The texture produced by each element really work well together and there is so much mystery in the photo. It left us wondering " where is this place " and " what could have happened ". From his photographs, I learn to choose my subject carefully and to be honest to myself about what I want to capture and what I want to achieve.
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