Analog #3

Andreas Gursky

I actually saw this book at the MFAH while I was browsing around. Andreas Gursky uses multiplicity within the image to develop these architectural buildings into a visually stimulating arrangement of shapes. The windows are different in color but share the same amount of space and the white lines create this ridged sense of separation. The small amount of foliage on the bottom adds a softness and contrast to the ridged building. The scale of this image in the oversize book makes the image feel more intense and chaotic. The image seems to highlight or bring up the idea of several happenings, occurring at once. This compacted large space houses several humans and within this complex structure, humans become part of this larger unit. Gursky highlights these tightly compacted structures that house multitudes of people. I feel like the subtle softness of the trees is telling within his image. The trees dwarfed by this massive structure, seem sparse and dull among this industrial landscape. Gursky frames his images so tightly, that there is no end to this structure. The structure acts as the landscape; the dominating force and the trees feel displaced and foreign. Gursky’s images move toward the idea of mass consumerism and the effect that plays within an environmental space.