New Year's Day Swimmers 1988

Andreas Gursky took this photograph called 'New Year's Day Swimmers', but I don't know exactly when, or where. I love the overcast palette; it's almost monochromatic, really, which makes the tiny bursts of color from the boats and swimmers pop. The texture of the land on the riverbank is amazing, a rough, crusty texture that is a big contrast to the smooth surface of the water. It makes me think about how much of this image comes from a collaboration between people and the elements. You know, the buildings are placed there, but the bank is built up over time through natural processes. Those processes created an opportunity for human activity. Look how the swimmers are sort of dotted in the water, with the line of spectators on the bank - each little mark is a person! It’s like the painting of a landscape. I see art as an ongoing exchange of ideas across time, and this photograph makes me think of the paintings of Pieter Bruegel, both artists are interested in the ways that people interact with their environments.