City- Gerhard Richter

I wanted to look at the Abstract work of Gerhard Richter, a German  visual artist (born 1932) because I think the technique he uses to create movement and a vibrancy by picking out colours from the city photography used as a background. I also like his other large, grey-scale Cityscapes that from close up obscure into complete Abstractism. Which is something that I haven’t explored before within my own work and I think would be an interesting way to explore the ideas of capturing the movement found within the City.

City- Catherine Yass

Catherine Yass is an English-born contemporary artist (born 1963.) Known for her brightly coloured photography which is usually mounted onto light boxes, highlighting her use of positive and negative imagery.

I decided to look at Yass’ work because I think that she captures the personality of a City in her photography by focusing on the lights and fast-moving pace which is then exaggerated by the way she edits her work. This has inspired me to experiment  with colour when exploring the theme of city as I believe it is an integral characteristic that will help me illustrate the busy, vibrant atmosphere felt in cities across the world.

City: Nan Goldin

Nan Goldin is an american photographer born in 1953 in Washington, D.C. She began to take photographs when she was a teenager, Goldin’s work is an exploration of the subcultures that surrounded her, which started during her study at the school of the museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Goldin’s work began by taking black and white photographs of drag queens, she then started to capture images of her friends that were dying from AIDS.

I am looking at Nan Goldin’s work as I think it is a strong representation of “Hidden City.” Her pieces are emotion filled scenes,  documenting the lives around her and shows a side to the city that you wouldn’t necessarily know about.