Synthesized Anarchy - A review of Chicago, Board of Trade II

Chicago, Board of Trade II by Andreas Gursky (shown below) is a collection of photos blended together to create one big overview of the Chicago stock exchange. It is colourful, chaotic and crammed with small details that combine to convey a strong emotional reaction.

Chicago, Board of Trade II by Andreas Gusrky

In some ways, the piece resembles modern life. People swarm about, all deeply involved in their own discussions and interactions and ignoring the general chaos manifesting around them. Colossal amounts of litter and papers left on the floor are reminiscent of the waste of modern society, with pollution in the seas and on land becoming a greater and greater problem. This destroys our surroundings, harms wildlife and creates mess – a dirty clutter which is reflected in the photos.

What’s more, the photos are bright and vibrant with a wide array of different colours and shades, conveying an exciting and mesmerizing tone. This echoes the distractions that the age of technology brings, with easily consumable material at easy and instant reach with the invention of the world wide web and the rise of social media. What's more, the piece doesn’t really have a focus, lacking any kind of centerpiece or spotlight. This is undoubtedly on purpose, in order to convey the fact that modern life can sometimes feel like it's all over the place and lacks focus with the sheer amount of distractions available to us.

All in all, the messy anarchy created by these photos serve to remind us of the dangers of modern life, and while it is vibrant and colourful, there is always the element of chaos that persists and threatens to envelope the piece in its grasp.