It is possible that the Andreas Gursky show at the Museum of Modern Art in N.Y.C. is the grand culmination of a vision in photography begun in the 1970s with the "New Topographics" which was exhibited at the George Eastman House. Prior to that show, photography supported at least 4 distinct approaches. There was the humanitarian/documentary of Lange and Evans. The confounding and surreal of Man Ray and Kertesz. The decisiveness of Bresson and Frank. The majesty of Adams. And the manipulation of Uelsmann. All had an affection for their subjects as well as the medium. The documentarians believed that injustice could be rectified. The surrealists trumpeted our ability to see into the bizarre. Bresson and Frank the bitter and the sweet all around us. Adams the Big Picture. And Uelsmann the wonder of an imagination. It was generally a youthful outlook for a young medium. But with the "New Topographics" photography matured. The realists claimed the forefront. They saw the ever-increasing sterility and coldness in society. And with the confidence of an adolescent, they showed us the inhumanity of where we live. We, being nurtured on drugs and shopping, supported this dire and simplistic view. We were shown a purgatory, but without souls. Now Mr. Gursky has trumped this desolate vision with majestic scale and luxurious tonalities. The colors may be slightly enhanced, but this reality in undeniable. The people are caught by the machinery and nothing is funny. Here is the proof of the inhumanity of life. Only photography could make that claim.
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