Andreas Gursky (*1955)

Andreas Gursky’s May Day IV is distinguished, like many of the artist’s other works, by a highly detailed, partially very abstract visual investigation of everyday culture and human surroundings. His chosen pictorial motifs indicate his great interest in the visual phenomenon of the mass events of youth culture. Generally photographed from a detached position, either high above or far away, he concentrates on the overview and the structures underlying the image. His pictures become a substitute for the contemporary sense of life and reality, and appear as revealing contemporary images of modern daily life. The highly detailed, large-format photographs thus present an astonishing and innovative portrait of the contemporary world. ___