Due to the chosen format, people appear tiny, set into the landscape like toy figures. Once the viewer realizes the human presence, one is tempted to interpret them as being the center of attention in the piece, even in this vast landscape veiled by fog. One could almost overlook the human presence in some pictures in Dolomites, Gondola lift (1987), for example, there is a small spot that turns out to be a Gondola lift. These images of massive natural phenomena are scattered or lined up one after the other like ants – making the viewer put humanity’s minuscule size into perspective. Some of Andreas Gursky’s landscape paintings show motifs that radiate sublimity such as massive rock formations ( Klausenpass, 1984, Dolomites, cable car, 1987 or Engadin I, 1995 and Engadin II, 2006) and rushing waterfalls ( Niagara Falls, 1989). He thematizes natural phenomena, artificial and instrumentalized nature.
Andreas Gursky’s landscapes are marked by the fact that there is always a trace of human beings in them. At times these image manipulations are obvious at first glance, but sometimes the subsequent processing has a more subtle effect that you only become aware of at second glance. Since the 1990s he has been using electronic image processing to intensify the composition of his pictures.
Motifs from nature and various forms of landscapes are an integral part of Gursky’s work. They are often reminiscent of children’s books because of their wide-format and high-angle perspective along with surprise objects within the frame. Andreas Gursky is best known for his large-format photographs, which he began taking in the 1980s.
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