On Tuesday, November 8, 2011, German photographer, Andreas Gursky, sold a photograph for 4.3 million dollars at Christie's in NYC. His photograph is sure to become THE iconic photo of the Rhine River... and beyond. Inspired by Gursky's fame and fortune, we wanted to take an iconic photo of North Carolina. The quest took us to Early Farms in eastern Guilford County. They are a certified roadside farm market. Roadside farm markets are to North Carolina as the Rhine River is to Germany-- well if not exactly, at least headed in that direction!
Somehow we don't think our photo will garner the fame and fortune as the Gursky; however, we sure had fun roaming around Guilford County looking for inspiration. We tried to interpret the Gursky photo-- layers of green, gray-blue, and brown. We just weren't as Rothko-esque. Once we googled Gursky's images, we had a greater appreciation for his 4-million-dollar photograph. OK, you've waited long enough. See Gursky's photo here.
And, during the 2012 growing season, don't forget to stop by Early Farms for some farm fresh produce. Let them know, not only do their gherkins make some mighty fine pickles but their fields would make a mighty fine Gursky!
I grew up in a little, picturesque town not far from the Rhine River Valley (take a look at these great pics: http://www.j-herzog.de/impressi.htm). However, I guess my taste in art is vastly different from the buyers of Gursky's photo. Don't get me wrong, I like it but I would NEVER have paid over $4 million for the photograph (even if I had that kind of money)!
Posted by: Katja Brown | Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 06:55 AM
Katja, the link doesn't seem to be working. Glad to have your feedback on the Gursky, especially from someone who KNOWS the region :).
Posted by: Janis | Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 08:10 AM
Once I went to the Gursky link I then HAD to look up "chromogenic". Yikes, it seems to be a complex process. It's a beautiful image, but $4 million is a LOT of money. Would love to know who bought it. But like art everywhere, it did its job in inspiring others. Good for you to go out and look in a different way.
Posted by: Oakland Daily Photo | Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 01:20 PM