Edward Burtynsky
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Edward Burtynsky has a political view about the environment and consumerism yet his work is arguably non-biased. I enjoy viewing his work and I am awed by the enormity and vastness he is able to capture with his camera and mind. His images of landfills, rock queries and other close ups are of interest to me since they are more abstract. His work also reminds me of artist Chris Jordan and how he uses numbers and the enormity of situations to allow viewers to visually comprehend numbers. Both Chris and Edward have graphic qualities that I relate to and find myself gravitating towards employing the graphic arts into my photography more and more. I am drawn to Edward’s landscapes and detail shots because I hope to employ my camera in a way that I feel that I have yet to achieve, that being in a more graphic arts way. Burtynsky has inspired me to go out and take some photos for their graphic visual quality and forget about everything else. Once I find a new aesthetic out of just taking photographs maybe I can find how I relate to them and how they may be politically charged or maybe even lacking a political theme for once.
About:
Edward Burtynsky is one of Canada's most respected photographers. His imagery explores the intricate link between industry, nature and humanity's impact upon the Earth. In his Oil series Burtynsky focuses on the oil industry as a source of dread and an ongoing endangerment of man's habitat. Over a period of more than 12 years he has researched and photographed all facets of 'oil culture'. His remarkable work is included in the collections of over 50 major museums around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
“Prix Pictet 2011 shortlist - Growth” Telegraph. Mar 2011 <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/8141095/Prix-Pictet-2011-shortlist-Growth.html>.
Interviews / Quotes:
“China is the most recent participant to be seduced by Western ideals — the hollow promise of fulfillment and happiness through material gain,” Burtynsky wrote in his 2005 photo book "China." “The mass consumerism these ideals ignite and the resulting degradation of our environment intrinsic to the process of making things should be a deep concern to all.”
Cook, Greg. “Edward Burtynsky” The New England Journal of Aesthetic Research. Mar 2011. <http://aesthetic.gregcookland.com/2007/02/edward-burtynsky.html>
“My photographs provide factual information. I can’t control how these images are used. If the images point to the overreach of humans, I leave it up to the viewers to absorb the implications.” - Edward Burtynsky
Keats, Jonathan and Gray, Kevin. “The Grim and Beautiful Vision of Edward Burtynsky” Men’s Journal. April 2011: 80.
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