‘Visual Spaces of Today’ by Andreas Gursky
Beginning Might 25th, 2023, German photographer Andreas Gursky exhibits 40 of his photos that document globalization and mass consumption at Fondazione MAST in Bologna. Titled ‘Visual Spaces of Nowadays,’ the exhibition, co-curated by Urs Stahel, spotlights the photographer’s thematic photos that recommend perspectives on function, the economy, and globalization.
Every single photograph reveals the concrete spaces of production plants, goods-handling centers, temples of consumption, transport hubs, power and meals industries, and economic centers across the globe. Gursky chosen the photos as he kept the acronym MAST in thoughts, which stands for Manifattura di Arti, Sperimentazione, Tecnologia (Factory of Arts, Encounter and Technologies).
Incorporated in the exhibition, which overlaps with Fondazione Mast’s ten-year celebration, are 40 photos by the artist, dating from his early operates (Krefeld, Hühner, 1989) to his extra current production (V&R II and V&R III, 2022), travelling terrific lengths, from Salerno (1990) to Hong Kong (2020), and combining the contemporary tourism sector (Rimini, 2003) with age-old production processes (Salinas, 2021).
Andreas Gursky, Lehmbruck I, 2013, image © designboom | | header image: Andreas Gursky, Salinas, 202 © ANDREAS GURSKY by SIAE 2023, photo by Sprüth Magers | photos courtesy of Fondazione MAST
Salerno marks Andreas Gursky’s landscape photography
Andreas Gursky sits inside Fondazione MAST, a solemn expression crossing his face, and ponders the choice of photos that are dear to him. One particular of them is Salerno (1990), the initial image in the exhibition, greeting the viewers into his documentary den of photographs. He was cruising along the Italian coast by the seaside 1 vacation, and all of a sudden, the uniformed rows of autos and stacked port containers came into view. Gursky had discovered the ropes of black-and-white photography in art and even crossed the path early on in his profession. This time, in Salerno, he took out his camera and captured the industrial landscape in complete colour.
‘I wanted to photograph that landscape, and I told myself, it is time for me to do what I want. I applied a tripod for this 1 and speedily snapped the photos due to the fact the sun was currently setting. Then, I was not certain if it would develop into an image of mine, but when I got back to my workshop and looked at the outcome, it also seemed like a postcard. I ought to say this image is essential to me due to the fact it inaugurated my landscape photography. When I appear back at this image, I recognize the moment I shifted my method to substantial-scale photography. This image was a turning point for me,’ says Gursky for the duration of the press conference at Fondazione MAST.
Andreas Gursky, F1 Boxenstopp I, 2007, image © designboom
Globalization in the globe of function
Big-scale photographs of Andreas Gursky grace the exhibition space of Fondazione MAST. The intentional size encourages viewers to step beyond the designated line view to scrutinize the photos and obtain facts that plain sight may well miss at initial glance. Globalization in the globe of function brews progressively in thoughts till the viewers come to terms with the globe they reside in operating on mass consumption and the ever-transmuting economy influencing the way people today function. But beyond the social and political themes Gursky has captured, a poetic and nostalgic tone shadows the images via the facts viewers could possibly appear previous when they glimpse at the shots for the initial time.
For Kamiokande (2007), Gursky flew to Japan and photographed the neutrino detector study facility and observatory. ‘It was about 1,000 meters beneath the sea level to stop catching radiation,’ says Gursky. He adds that ordinarily, the facility would be complete of water, but for the duration of his pay a visit to, the cavernous observatory seemed to lack it. Tiers of golden spheres lure in the viewers and retain their consideration as they gaze at the image, floating however attached to the wall of the facility. In Gursky’s image, the globes seemingly glow in sequence, nearly tricking the viewers of the detail that tends to make the image odic. Glancing on the decrease correct, two oars with rowers paddle via the nonetheless water. ‘Without these boats, the image would have been scientific. I was moved by this detail. It offers the image a romantic and musical viewpoint,’ says Gursky.
installation view | image © designboom
Compositions and uniformity in art photography
Composition matters to Andreas Gursky. When post-editing can enable, getting in the moment and snapping the shot at the correct time and angle are deemed necessary to the photographer. At instances, Gursky appears for fragments that can piece the entire image collectively, an try viewers can see in Bahrain I (2005). Right here, he hopped on a helicopter and armed with his camera, he circled about the Bahrain International Circuit raceway like a vulture waiting for its prey. Previous the images and into the editing, Gursky made a snaking racetrack that slopes down from a sandy mountain, each and every automobile and individual disappearing from the pictorial canvass.
Uniformity follows balance, and such a style is observed in several of Gursky’s photos. In RHEIN II (1999), a likelihood encounter occurred. ‘It is not how I imagined the final outcome would be, but immediately after that, I began to reflect on how I took photographs and was operating along the theme of abstract expressionism,’ he says. The image oozes tranquility in nature. Gursky was on a hike and jog when he identified himself operating along the bank of the Rhine River. At some point for the duration of his run, he paused and saw an image of a substantial abstract horizon in nature with the green grass and water flow stretching endlessly like a seamless tape. There, he knew it would be an image showcasing the stillness on the horizon that is free of charge from disruption.
installation view | left: Andreas Gursky, Toys’R’Us, 1999, image © designboom correct: Andreas Gursky, Tokyo Stock Exchange, 1990, image © designboom
Salinas in Ibiza as an image of respite
Serenity inside speedy globalization and pocketed quiet moments in instances of city frenzy come into play inside Fondazione MAST. Andreas Gursky masters pulling the viewers into the painterly compositions of his photos for visual purposes when pushing them into the sphere of social and political nuances pervasive in his industrial and landscape photographs. One particular moment, the viewers bask in silence, reveling in the transient stillness, then seconds later, progressively rather than abruptly, they see the globe they reside in, back to the ground from the short-term higher.
The final image that Gursky discussed at Fondazione Mast was Salinas (2021). The photographer went to Ibiza and captured the landscape of salt pools at the feet of rugged, rocky hills. No unmistakable facts spring into view just silhouettes of the grided pools and mountains. The obscure lines and slopes underline the picturesque landscape, snapped at the correct time and at the correct angle. The sun has sunk but painted the sky with orange hues, and the halcyon of the water reflects the surroundings. Gursky, his camera prepared, captured the respite, breathing in the wondrous silence and breathing out globalization in the globe of function for a when.
installation view | photo by Luca Capuano
installation view | photo by Luca Capuano
