Record for any photo sold at auction set in NYC

[jsch]

I've indicated before that I personally don't get moved by Gursky's work. But I'll readily admit that I don't believe I could take (or create) a picture that would provoke as many comments on LuLa as this one of his has.   

I admit: he has something (besides money) that I don't have.

Eric

Hi Eric,

you have something that Gursky doesn't have: a career as a professor in math and computer science (so it is written on your web site). And exactly the time you invested in this fields Gursky invested in photography (and in addition his father was a successful professional photographer). What would you think, if Gursky would talk about math and computer science?

I don't want to say a mathematician can't take serious photographs. There are many good photographers who actually got their education in another field. But at some point they concentrated on photography. Look at Ansel Adams, he was trained as a piano player, but he quit that for photography.

So make a rough estimate how much more time Gursky spent with photography compared to you.

And don't forget. As a scholar and teacher in an elaborated field you had perhaps more impact on society than Gursky with his images. Make another estimate: How much income did you generate with your research and how much students of yours earn their living because of your work.

Best,
Johannes

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

How much income did you generate with your research and how much students of yours earn their living because of your work.

Best,
Johannes

Hi Johannes,

I have no basis for estimating the effect my teaching might have had on my students' earning power. I can estimate that my own total earnings from 35 years as an academic come to substantially less than half of the stated auction price for Gursky's print.

I don't think either figure relates much to such hard-to-define attributes as "artistic merit" or "artistic value," which are very personal matters, IMHO.

I get a great deal of satisfaction from what I do in photography, and marketing isn't one of the activities that I especially enjoy. I'm not angry with Gursky for succeeding financially better than I have in photography. I simply don't respond emotionally to the work of his that I have seen, but if others do, so much the better for him and for them.

Cheers,

Eric

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Good points, Johannes.

In fact, that was bugging me with my ex-wife (among other things, for you smart-pants out there ): every time I would suggest we buy a piece of art (I tend to prefer modern, abstract, minimalistic art), she would be like "Naah... wait till I buy a brush and paints and will do the same in one afternoon". And the last time she had a brush in hand was in high-school (excludes a make-up brush, of course). Why on earth people think they can do something in one afternoon that others spend their life-time perfecting???

[BernardLanguillier]

I feel that this all relates to the difference between being and pretending to be.

We live in a world that is based on pretention (starting with the pretention to own money called a loan) and the encounter with people who really are what they seem to be is sometimes painful.

Cheers,
Bernard

[niteart]

I know several people who painted their own "abstracts" for decorations without any previous experience. They definitely look better than 'Home Goods' stuff and I would probably not be able to tell a difference if I see some famous work and my friend's work next to each other in the museum.

[tom b]

If I remember correctly Edward Weston's 'Excusado' was the world's most expensive photograph at one time.

The image was a photograph of his toilet.

A list of the world's most expensive photographs can be found here.

It makes for some interesting reading.

Cheers,

[uaiomex]

I rather hang a pepper.
Great link, thanks.
Eduardo

If I remember correctly Edward Weston's 'Excusado' was the world's most expensive photograph at one time.

The image was a photograph of his toilet.

A list of the world's most expensive photographs can be found here.

It makes for some interesting reading.

Cheers,

[ctz]

As a F1 fan, I very much like this:
http://blog.iso50.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Gursky_Andreas_Bahrain_II_25_06_100076c3a.jpg

also by Gursky.

[Rob C]

Must be another shocker: all I get is a little box with a cross in it.

Ah! I get it now - it's a health warning.

Rob C

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

As a F1 fan, I very much like this:
http://blog.iso50.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Gursky_Andreas_Bahrain_II_25_06_100076c3a.jpg

also by Gursky.

Thanks for the link. That's the first Gursky I've seen that doesn't make me say "Ho, hum!" That one has real pizzazz. I'd spend much more money for it than I would for the one that precipitated this thread.

Eric