Edward Burtynsky Documents Society’s Waste
Edward Burtynsky’s photographs are haunting and beautiful records of the ravages of industrialization. He documents the environmental destruction of mining, huge piles of cast-aside electronic goods, and towers of tires as far as the eye can see.
I love his artist statement:
Nature transformed through industry is a predominant theme in my work. I set course to intersect with a contemporary view of the great ages of man; from stone, to minerals, oil, transportation, silicon, and so on. To make these ideas visible I search for subjects that are rich in detail and scale yet open in their meaning. Recycling yards, mine tailings, quarries and refineries are all places that are outside of our normal experience, yet we partake of their output on a daily basis.
These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We are drawn by desire - a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times.
When future generations mine our landfills for our cast-aside cell phone parts and discarded blenders will they view our wastefullness as an indicator of economic success or of unparalleled systemic greed?
Link to Burtynsky’s website
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5 Responses to “Edward Burtynsky Documents Society’s Waste”
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- Vince says:
The enormity of humanity has gone beyond our ability to comprehend. Population, construction, destruction. How many people are laughing right now? How many are having sex? Like everything else, the scale of our refuse is beyond our ability to appreciate.
- Jorge D says:
Mr. Burtynsky,
Please continue to do your work. It is through images like these that people will hopefully be compelled to change their consumption habits.
I am a photography enthusiast and so I like beautiful things. Your pictures are both beautiful in their composition and repulsive in their content which couldn’t make this dicotomy more appealing to the viewer.
You say you do not want to take party in what you present but the mere fact of capturing these images says that you have a strong opinion on the matter. I believe that voicing your outrage will create a stronger movement against wastefulness and pollution and your work will carry your voice.
Sincerely,
JDLR
- GarageCat says:
Your photography is beautiful. I would think with all the uses for ground up tires that the pile shown would be diminishing.
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[...] Similarly tagged posts Pollution Aligns with No NationThe Impact of Zimbabwe’s Policies of Displacement Jane Jacobs, 1916 - 2006The warpath of General MotorsTop 10 US cities best prepared for an oil crisisShifts: Fortress Cape Town (pt 2)What’s that sound? Monorail!AP: Blacks more likely to breathe polluted airIHP Cities in the 21st CenturyWeb users to ‘patrol’ US borderPsychovideography and ‘Fortress Urbanism’Accepted at UC BerkeleyThe Photographs of Edward BurtynskyCoyotes in American CitiesThe Storm that Hit SwedenThe chronicles of obsessive consumptionAfraid to See the Doctor: Public Hospitals Struggle to Provide Care for the UninsuredSpace/Time Map of Europe for High Speed TrainsADPSR asks Designers: Stop Building Prisons!Racist 19th Century Geography textbookMapping the BiosphereEuro-boulevards in San FranciscoThe Bus Bike?On Mike Davis3D-city models of virtual citiesradicalcartographyEvangelical Leaders and Global Warming?Exhausted Japanese business menMega-Cities of the FutureA trio of Global Warming ArticlesAdobe Illustrator for Urban PlanningEcoCity BuildersSprol [...]
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The enormity of humanity has gone beyond our ability to comprehend. Population, construction, destruction. How many people are laughing right now? How many are having sex? Like everything else, the scale of our refuse is beyond our ability to appreciate.
Mr. Burtynsky,
Please continue to do your work. It is through images like these that people will hopefully be compelled to change their consumption habits.
I am a photography enthusiast and so I like beautiful things. Your pictures are both beautiful in their composition and repulsive in their content which couldn’t make this dicotomy more appealing to the viewer.
You say you do not want to take party in what you present but the mere fact of capturing these images says that you have a strong opinion on the matter. I believe that voicing your outrage will create a stronger movement against wastefulness and pollution and your work will carry your voice.
Sincerely,
JDLR
Your photography is beautiful. I would think with all the uses for ground up tires that the pile shown would be diminishing.