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Andreas Gursky

PTT, Rotterdam (1995) by Andreas Gursky (b. 1955, Leipzig) depicts the interior of a postal warehouse. The scene is deserted but the human presence is discernable in the small details of the picture. Time appears to have stopped, and the scene takes the form of a still life expressing the evolution of a society in perpetual motion. Devoid of any focal subject that might structure the composition and detailing an array of everyday objects with equal photographic precision, the overall impression is one of abstraction. His flat, documentary style is partly achieved through digital post-production techniques which often involve editing multiple photographs to make a single image. This work is characteristic of Gursky's approach to large format photography, both in its precise nature and architectural subject. Globalisation and its visible contradictions in the urbanised landscape of recent decades are also recurrent themes. Adopting a detached approach that eschews social or political comment, the artist has stated 'reality can only be shown by constructing it... montage and manipulation brings us closer to the truth'.

Artworks

  1. Andreas Gursky PTT, Rotterdam, 1995

    Impression couleur
    115 x 259 cm
    Collection Mudam Luxembourg
    Acquisition 1997 – Apport FOCUNA
    © Andreas Gursky

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