Gursky’s Rhine II is, or at least was until recently, the most expensive photograph ever sold. It is also very bleak.
The above is my reponse to it.
I saw it in Tate Modern and took an instant dislike to it. This was before I knew what it had sold for, or possibly before it was sold. This is sort of a good thing. It provoked and continues to provoke enormous reaction in me. I hate it. I love it because I hate it. This is the only time I’ve ever said I hate something on this blog. Becasue, hate is a strong word and there’s a lot of it about lately. The photograph just makes me feel a bit uneasy. It is an exciting and interesting thing (usually) to be provoked by a mere two-dimensional image.
What’s wrong with it?
It is desperately bleak. It is instantly recognisable as a stretch of water, and yet there is no obvious narrative therefore representing as an abstract piece.
As a photograph, it is flat, undynamic. Flaccid even. The balance of the composition is flabby like a loose sail. It is the opposite of a dynamic looking Instagram style photograph, all angles and monster close ups and retro filters. It takes some skill to have a strong centre line and keep a composition taut. This image forces the eye somewhere into infinity just above the horizon. I like that about it. Also, the use of a medium or large format camera and subtle jiggery pokery means there is no lens or perspective distortion. It’s a nice technical touch.
But, what is the viewpoint if viewed as a photograph? This type of view might be expected from a standing position, or seated, watching or feeding the ducks. The viewpoint seems to be at least 2 metres above ground! This makes the intuitive narrative very hard to read.
It is bleak
It is bleak. It is bleak because it is so big, something like 3 metres wide. It is bleak because it sold for about US$4.3million. This fact is inseparable from the image itself. However, I’ve seen paintings valued way higher than this but not been distracted by this apparent monetary value. I’m unable to separate the $$ from the experience looking at this image. I don’t know why and it is irksome.
Clearly I’ve thought about this image a bit. It ruminates somewhere in a corner of my photographic brain. This apparently simple image of a crap, wet day in Germany occupies my thoughts fr more than expected.
Whatever, it has imprinted itself in my head enough to make me respond to it–the emotional bleakness of it. I’ve included Gursky’s Rhine II here for the educational purpose of easy comparison. Unable to resolve it verbally, I have therefore resolved it via visual method.
My image is not supposed to be the same. I have a whole different angle on abstract photography, a new set of strongly abstract images is about to go up on the site very soon. It is a creative emotional response. I feel I can let this image alone now. But… where are the ducks?
You can find out more about Andreas Gursky on the Tate website, here:
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/andreas-gursky-2349
Disclaimer: I hope that, should Andreas Gursky ever read this post, that he does not feel I am being disparaging. I admire his energy and technical acumen. I would hope that my response photograph is understood as an attempt to resolve an inner dialogue about his work, to better understand it.