Andreas gursky photos
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Long Shot Close Up – Andreas Gursky
One Half Revolution and Everything Turns Red
With Andreas Gursky in North Korea
by Jan Schmidt-Garre, first published in Die Zeit, 15.2.2007
German version on waahr.de
Picture perfect. The May Day stadium in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. There, in the center balcony, under a ten meter high portrait of the country’s founding father, Kim Il-sung, and surrounded by 90,000 North Korean soldiers in uniform is a stranger – the photographer Andreas Gursky, who is pushing the vases under the photograph aside to get his cameras in better position. It’s his sixth time in the stadium. He has worked his way up, step by step, to this hallowed viewpoint, from which he has the best possible perspective of the spectacle below, of Arirang, a rhythmic gymnastics pageant, with over 100,000 participants the country’s largest mass event and which has an immense impact on the entire North Korean people.
We entered from China: Andreas Gursky, Philomene Magers, his dealer, and I. There are four flights to Pyongyang a week – two from Moscow, two from
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HERO DAILIES: Essential culture, curated daily
WEDNESDAY ART IDOL: Careers of artists with unparalleled vision
Andreas Gursky is a German photographer whose large-scale colour images not only break records at auction but transform the way photography is thought of. As one of the most coveted photographers working today, Gursky visualises the unimaginable scale of modernity with photographs that pin you in front of them.
Early Life
Born in east Germany to a family of photographers, Andreas Gursky grew up and studied in Essen and Düsseldorf whose respective photography scenes had a profound impact on his work. In Essen, Gursky first developed his technical skill, studying visual communication under key 20th-century German documentary photographers Otto Steinhart and Michael Schmidt from 1978 to 1981.
From there he moved to the Düsseldorf Art Academy, an internationally renowned mecca of contemporary photography led by legendary German conceptual artists, Bernd and Hilla Becher. Between 1976-98 their photography department produced generations of Germany’s most acc
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Andreas Gursky
Published Photo Books
"Andreas Gursky: Works 80-08": This book covers Andreas Gursky's impressive career, featuring large-format works from 1980 to 2008. For photographers, it provides inspiration to push the boundaries of scale and experiment with new perspectives, while offering an in-depth look at the evolution of Gursky's technique and themes.
"ANDREAS GURSKY": This monograph highlights Gursky's unique approach to photography, showcasing his signature large-scale images that merge multiple perspectives. Owning this book can encourage photographers to explore innovative techniques and develop their skills in capturing vast, intricate scenes.
"Andreas Gursky: Photographs from 1984 to the Present": This volume presents a selection of Gursky's photographs spanning over two decades, reflecting his distinctive style and evolving artistic vision. For practicing photographers, this book serves as a valuable resource to study Gursky's methods and gain inspiration for their own large-scale works.
"Andreas Gursky": This comprehensive monograph provides an overview o
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