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Lot Essay
Montparnasse is a truly epic photograph, one of Gursky's most iconic images. The artist's ability to observe humanity in an abstract, almost alien way, is seen here to powerful effect: the tenement set against a neutral sky at first appears impersonal, seductively aesthetic. At first glance, the trees lining the street are the only indication that we are not looking at an irregular and strangely hypnotic grid pattern, reminiscent of a Mondrian painting with its seemingly erratic blocks of color, but at a real living space, with hundreds of lives being played out within its confines. On closer inspection, human figures are visible moving inside, the blocks of color become drawn curtains and lampshades, books and furniture appear in the windows.
Gursky's artistic vision is an intellectual form of social photography, provoking the viewer to reflect on the human condition and its status vis-a-vis the heady promises of Modernism. In Montparnasse, we see social housing in practice, the epitome of the modern urban environment and a wistful reminder of how the reality of Modernist architecture parted ways with its socially-minded ideology. The form of the photograph is constructed by the architecture. Through Gursky's lens the once championed International style looks deflated and worn, however the global familiarity of the image, while uninviting, is somehow comforting.
Gursky is able to achieve a powerful sense of both alienation and individuality, which leaves us feeling the prime symptom of the modern world: the fear of being alone.
fig- Gerhard Richter, 1024 Colours, 1973, Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
Gursky's artistic vision is an intellectual form of social photography, provoking the viewer to reflect on the human condition and its status vis-a-vis the heady promises of Modernism. In Montparnasse, we see social housing in practice, the epitome of the modern urban environment and a wistful reminder of how the reality of Modernist architecture parted ways with its socially-minded ideology. The form of the photograph is constructed by the architecture. Through Gursky's lens the once championed International style looks deflated and worn, however the global familiarity of the image, while uninviting, is somehow comforting.
Gursky is able to achieve a powerful sense of both alienation and individuality, which leaves us feeling the prime symptom of the modern world: the fear of being alone.
fig- Gerhard Richter, 1024 Colours, 1973, Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris