Andreas Gursky in Large Format Posted April 8, 2001 Very interesting is the newest piece in the Modern's Gursky Retrospective, "Stockholder's Meeting, 2001," which is the most explicit work of Gursky's in terms of both digital manipulation and political comment. A constantly implicit (though not clumsily suggested) thematic in Gursky is, of course, the displacement of human narrative, human subject (both in and in front of the photograph), in the face of massive environments (whether they be expressly architectural, commercial, corporate, or natural): in "Stockholder's Meeting" corporate logos line the blank tops of both halves of a diptych. Beneath them is a mountainside, with rows of corporation boardmembers superimposed upon it and worked into its surface. Below this is another superimposition, of what looks like a packed cinema audience: we see none of their faces, they are hardly more than silhouettes, etc. Aside from the silliness of the illusion (esp so in the context of other, infinitely more subtle, Gursky images) there seems to be an especially trite political comment being made. The piece does not throw all of Gursky into question for me, but it certainly makes me wonder about what his new directions may be. <p> Has anyone seen this print or other new Gursky work, or have any other ideas about this print itself? Thanks
Andreas Gursky
in Large Format
Posted
Very interesting is the newest piece in the Modern's Gursky
Retrospective, "Stockholder's Meeting, 2001," which is the most
explicit work of Gursky's in terms of both digital manipulation and
political comment. A constantly implicit (though not clumsily
suggested) thematic in Gursky is, of course, the displacement of
human narrative, human subject (both in and in front of the
photograph), in the face of massive environments (whether they be
expressly architectural, commercial, corporate, or natural):
in "Stockholder's Meeting" corporate logos line the blank tops of
both halves of a diptych. Beneath them is a mountainside, with rows
of corporation boardmembers superimposed upon it and worked into its
surface. Below this is another superimposition, of what looks like a
packed cinema audience: we see none of their faces, they are hardly
more than silhouettes, etc. Aside from the silliness of the illusion
(esp so in the context of other, infinitely more subtle, Gursky
images) there seems to be an especially trite political comment being
made. The piece does not throw all of Gursky into question for me,
but it certainly makes me wonder about what his new directions may
be.
<p>
Has anyone seen this print or other new Gursky work, or have any
other ideas about this print itself? Thanks