Historical events and precious moments no longer take precedence as photography’s main funcion, bringing the niche into the spotlight as one of the most popular forms of visual and social art. Along with other forms of art nowadays, photographs can sometimes be expensive to purchase, especially if taken by a famous photographer and in correspondence with the latest cultural trends. At the moment, the most expensive photo ever taken is priced at $4.3 million, in 1999, and was taken by the German visual artist Andreas Gursky. The photograph is named Rhein II, and apart from its incredible cost, is both a beautiful and controversial piece of modern art.
When looking at the photo, one sees an ominous sea of clouds smeared across the sky. The clouds …show more content…
In actuality it didn’t even look like that back in 1999 when Gursky took the photo. Gursky had to heavily retouch Rhein II using multiple digital editing techniques and programs; originally, the photo contained many superfluous details such as people walking around the scene. Along with people, buildings were removed in conjunction, in order to follow format with the structure of the image. This stylistic choice shows that Gursky wanted the image to be unassociated with any specific place, leaning towards the side of a platonic relationship between river and landscape. In an explanation of artistic purpose, Gursky revealed his motivation for editing being that “… this view of the Rhine cannot be obtained in situ – a fictitious construction was required to provide an accurate image of a modern river,” (quoted in ‘... I generally let things develop slowly’, Andreas Gursky: Fotografien 1994-1998, p.ix) a valid reason for the changes. These after-effects and alteration, paired with the large price tag that this artwork brought, are what have critics biting at the bit to tear this piece
When looking at the photo, one sees an ominous sea of clouds smeared across the sky. The clouds …show more content…
In actuality it didn’t even look like that back in 1999 when Gursky took the photo. Gursky had to heavily retouch Rhein II using multiple digital editing techniques and programs; originally, the photo contained many superfluous details such as people walking around the scene. Along with people, buildings were removed in conjunction, in order to follow format with the structure of the image. This stylistic choice shows that Gursky wanted the image to be unassociated with any specific place, leaning towards the side of a platonic relationship between river and landscape. In an explanation of artistic purpose, Gursky revealed his motivation for editing being that “… this view of the Rhine cannot be obtained in situ – a fictitious construction was required to provide an accurate image of a modern river,” (quoted in ‘... I generally let things develop slowly’, Andreas Gursky: Fotografien 1994-1998, p.ix) a valid reason for the changes. These after-effects and alteration, paired with the large price tag that this artwork brought, are what have critics biting at the bit to tear this piece