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''Rhein II'', 1999 by Andreas Gursky
AP report:
NEW YORK — A 1999 photograph of the Rhine river by German artist Andreas Gursky has sold for $4.3 million in New York City, setting a record for any photograph sold at auction.
Titled "Rhein II," the chromogenic color print face-mounted to acrylic glass, had a pre-sale estimate of $2.5 million to $3.5 million.
It sold Tuesday at Christie's. The buyer was not disclosed.
The previous record for any photography sold at auction was Cindy Sherman's "Untitled," which fetched $3.8 million at Christie's in May.
Gursky's panoramic image of the Rhine is one of an edition of six photographs. Four are in major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate Modern in London.
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Oh well, I expected something a little more grand. It just shows that perhaps the simplest of things are perhaps the best?
"Simple"?!! This has got to be the most boring photo I've ever seen. I've pictures of dew-drops that looked like Monet's compared to this! This is yet another example of MMTB, aka. "More Money Than Brains".
Haha, well said.
It shows that some people have a LOT more money than they do sense! Only makes one wonder how in the world did they ever acquire ANY money.
How can anyone pay that much for a photograph of a simple river (not even a famous person or event) when there are so many people hurting and going without basic needs in the world today?!
Why?, I just want to know why this picture is worth so much. I've got thousands of pictures I've taken of scenery that are a hundred times more beautiful than this.
How can anyone pay so much for a photograph of a simple river (not even a famous person or event) when there are so many people hurting and doing without basic needs all over the world?!
There is nothing special about this photo that makes it worth that much money - other than good marketing. I've worked in the wedding photo business - and can say that any average person can create this photograph. The only thing different is the fact that it was most likely done with either medium or large format so that when enlarged, the quality does not degrade.
Sick what some people spend money on - when there are so many that are going without just the basic necessities of food and clothing.
People who spend this much on a photo in my opinion have lost touch with reality.
"Why is this picture worth so much?" sounds a lot like "Why is that CEO worth an $8 million bonus?". Smoke and mirrors.
When you get money you do not deserve, bonuses, etc. I guess it is easy to throw it away on something stpid.
Not only could the average person create this photo, the average person would create it. It violates the rule of thirds something fierce.
Though you can break that rule if you know what you're doing. I'm guessing the photographer knew what he was doing :)
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The thing is, once you see what someone did, you say you can do it, this pictures was a vision that someone pictured maybe walking arround there and took the picture, someone among many people, that makes it special, secondly, it is well balanced, and when you look at it, the end is infinite, it makes you look arround not finding where to focus, so yoou start to imagine things, feel calm, it can bring you memories from when you had a peaceful moment like this picture, it is nature by itself and someone caught it in a special way in this picture, that makes it a unique picture, after this, sure you can fin a place kind of like this one, but it will be just a copy.
I like the photograph and would love to see it much larger than my computer screen allows. Now about the $4.3m. It doesn't matter how much someone will pay or not pay. When it comes to art, money never determines value, nor should it. About digital vs. traditional photography and art: It doesn't matter. It may be a different skill set but both technologies are valid. As an artist/photographer, here's my expression of the future direction of photography.
"Looking onward with photography I suppose we will see the invisible more clearly than the visible and relationships between not only colors and shapes but also suggestions."
Looking Onward Photography, #art #photo
Concerning my last comment, it seems that the image link has been chopped off. If you want to see it and read more you can go to my site: rgphil. With the standard com at the end. The photography referred to was number 484.
Doesn't make any sense to me.