Edward Burtynsky

Edward Burtynsky is a highly respected photography who has had exhibits in over 50 museums.  His work focuses on large format industrial landscape photographs.  His early image of industry came from the General Motors Plant where his father worked in his hometown of Ontario, Canada.  His images depict the relationship between industry and nature.  He uses elements of mining, quarrying, manufacturing, shipping, oil production, demolition and recycling in his art.  His photos are extremely detailed and are a cross between fine art and commercial photography. 

The subjects of his photo are very unusual.  He takes objects or sites that are not considered normally beautiful and makes them into extraordinary art.  The sites are common objects that contribute to our daily lives but things we would rather hide away for plain view such as a quarrying, refineries and recycling yards.  He gives these objects new meaning by turning them from unpleasant to stunning images. 

His photographs show the dependence on humans in their quest for a good life on nature.  However through the photos we can see how we are destroying the one thing we are most dependent on.  His works include portfolios on mines, quarries, ship, oil, China, Australia and water.  My favorite of these is Mine and Water.  The water portfolio has a sub-section on the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill. 

In 2006, a documentary film, Manufactured Landscapes, was made about Edward Burtynsky.  It featured his photographs of landscapes that were affected by human intervention. 

Oil Spill #13,
Mississippi Delta, Gulf of Mexico, June 24, 2010

Oil Spill #2,
Discoverer Enterprise, Gulf of Mexico, May 11, 2010

Mines #15
Inco Tailings Pond, Sudbury, Ontario 1985

Mines #17
Lornex Open Pit Copper Mine. Highland Valley, British Columbia 1985

“Burtynsky calls his images ‘a second look at the scale of what we call progress,’ and hopes that [they] acquaint viewers with the ramifications of our lifestyle.” -Washington Post

http://www.edwardburtynsky.com

Archiving, Saving

In New York, Beside Itself, by Johanna Burton, she discusses the attempts to capture the past, present and future through works of several artists.  I believe to understand this particular reading, it is clearer to start at the end.  Burton tells of a conversation she had with Sharon Hayes.  In the discussion, they discussed Jean-Luc Nancy’s distinction between “common being” and “being-in-common”.  Common being is desire to be an organized whole or entity.  Nancy states this is impossible to achieve.  However, she believes that individuals in a common being or body can shared the feeling of being-in-common.  It does not require the whole common being to be in agreement with one common idea but rather individuals coming together to share their bond of being uncommon.  Sound confusing?  It makes a lot of sense when you think about it.  We tend to group together with people who we have a common idea that is uncommon to others.  For example:  I follow the group, STS9.  They are not a well-known group as for as mainstay music is considered however their followers are extremely loyal and share a common love for their music.  So while STS9 is uncommon to the average music listener, they have a group of followers are in common with each other. 

Similar to the contrast of common being and being-in-common, Johanna Burton discusses the term, “being with.”  Andrea Geyer’s Interim (2002) follows her as she navigates through New York City.  It demonstrates the feeling of being isolated while being “with” public space.   Burton then discusses Sedgwick’s beside.  Try picturing a city with its past, present and future beside each other.  Sedgwick recounts her experience of walking through New York City after September 11, 2001.  She explains how she cannot stop herself from looking over her shoulder to see if she sees the World Trade Center Towers.  You can almost imagine her closing her eyes and openings them to see if they will reappear.  She is viewing the present but hoping for the past.  As Sigmund Freud states in Civilization and Its Discontents, nothing “in mental life…which has once been formed can perish.”  Sedgwick refers to New York City as an “old friend.”  This brings us to Burton’s thought of cities being living objects.  In Elizabeth Grosz’s “Bodies-Cities”, she discusses the relationship between bodies and cities and how the two move together and apart in their daily interactions. 

In Joan Jonas’s 1972 performance, Delay Delay, a woman stares on a scene in Manhattan directing the viewer to see what she sees.  Burton states how Jonas’ work stood as her reference of New York City.  In this, we see how little difference there is in our mind of an actual experience or implied experience based on an image.  As artist’s we study other artist’s work and use their techniques and images to help us create our original art.  Our experiences are often based on other’s experiences. 

As we have seen with several other works, Emily Roysdon’s work at Christopher Street piers, Talk Is Territorial, and her Untitled work on David Wojnarowicz seeks to claim the past.  There is a direct correlation between her work and Wojnarowicz’s work on Arthur Rimbaud.  In our attempts to connect with the past, does the past become part of us or do we become part of the past?  As Burton points out not all artists have firsthand experience of history.  However, our need to understand the present and the future often starts with the past. 

Emily Roysdon / David Wojnarowicz

 Emily Roysdon / David Wojnarowicz

David Wojnarowicz / Arthur Rimbaud

David Wojnarowicz / Arthur Rimbaud

 
Sharon Hayes’, In the Near Future, brings us back to being a common being or being-in-common.  Hayes took to nine locations in New York City with signs with various signs such as “I Am A Man” and “Nothing Will Be as Before.”  Although Hayes stands as a lone demonstrator in these images which makes her uncommon on the streets, the messages are common to the community. 

As always, I try to relate the reading to me personally.  In doing so, I thought about my mother’s parents.  They died long before I was born however I have a special connection with my grandfather.  I have been often told that I look like him and have many of his mannerisms and likes/dislikes.  I carry a symbol of him with my always.  I do not understand the connection however I know it exists.  As John Searle states “I know it, but I don’t know how” and I do not feel puzzled but reassured by this behavior. 

China’s Global Megalopolises

Videos:

BBC News - June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square Massacre

Tiananmen Square Mini Documentary

China's Ghost Cities and Malls

In the Tiananmen Square videos, we are shown the events of June 4-5, 1989.    The BBC News reports from Tiananmen Square as the People's Liberation Army moved into the streets of Beijing with armed troops and tanks.  They were under orders to clear the Square by any means necessary.  Unfortunately in this incident, they choose to open fire on students, innocent bystanders, and basically anything that moved.  The video shows the panic and shock for the people who had gathered for a peaceful, non-violent protest seeking political and economic reform.  Despite their cries for the Army to stop the killings and allow help to the wounded, the Army continued to fire upon the people of their own country.  The mini documentary by Anthony Thomas, reports on the aftermath of the massacre.  From his hotel room balcony above Tiananmen Square, he captures the celebratory dance of the Army’s tanks.  A man, later to be known as “tank man” singly stands unarmed before the lead tank in defiance of their actions.  He does not move despite the slow movement towards him.  Eventually he climbs the tank and speaks to the tank operator.  The lead tank’s motor is turned off.  This is followed by the shutting down of the remaining tanks.  We do not see what happens to “tank man” however in some research I found he was pulled off the street by a group of people.  It is unclear if the people are from the government or fellow supporters.  However, it is believed he was captured and executed in the days following his stand. 

In the documentary, Thomas states that Tiananmen Square is the largest public space in the world.  It has large-scale government buildings at its edges.  The elements of the Square show the insignificance of the individual against the “mights” of the State.  I believe there is a parallel to this statement in the actions of the Tank Man.  Through his actions, he is showing the strong will of the individual against the State.  He is the one who is significant in his actions. 


I found an article on 10 Revolutionary Acts of Courage by Ordinary People. The list includes:
1. Lt. Ehren Watada Refusing The Iraq War
2. The Unknown Rebel at the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests
3. Gandhi’s Salt March to Dandi
4. Rosa Parks’ Sit Down for Civil Rights
5. Aung San Suu Kyi and Freedom From Fear
6. John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Bed-In for Peace
7. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” Speech
8. Ahmad Batebi, Iran’s Happenstance Hero
9. Nelson Mandela’s Dedication To Justice
10. Thich Quang Duc’s Self-Immolation


http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/2008/09/15/10-revolutionary-acts-of-courage-by-ordinary-people/

 The final video was on China’s Ghost Cities and Malls.  Two signs of economic growth for a country are new construction and low unemployment.  In China, by constructing many high rise condo buildings and malls, the employment rate is 4.10% (4^th quarter 2010).  This is considerably lower than the United States at 9.20%.  However, these two factors as deceiving.  The new construction sites remain unoccupied and due to the high costs of real estate basically uninhabitable.  One scene showed a realtor showing a condo to a prospective buyer.  The condo cost was $300,000 but it required 50% down and the remainder to be paid within 3 years.  The upside of this is that there are no credit issues in China because the average citizens cannot purchase real estate on their $6,000 a year income.  Unless the government chooses to change its course, it will be impossible for a common worker in China to buy a home even though his home will be eventually demolished for new construction. 


Edward Burtynsky’s photographs shows depictions of global industrial landscapes including China.  The following three images are from his China – Urban Renewal work. In his statement about the photographs, he notes that the Chinese Government owns all the land in China. 

www.edwardburtynsky.com

Readings:
 Reversed Images: Representations of Shanghai and its Contemporary Material Culture, Made in China
Excerpts from Contemporary Chinese Art: Primary Documents: pp. 205-8, 217-19

In Reversed Images: Representationsof Shanghai and its Contemporary Material Culture, focus is on the cultural and environmental transformation of Shanghai through three themes.  The first theme is based on the romance of the city.  Shi Guorul’s work includes large-scale panoramic camera obscura image of Shanghai’s past as well it move into the future. In Upside Down/Progressing, Xu Xixian photographed Shanghai in the 70s and 80s brining his son along for the shoots.  Twenty years later his son, Xu Jianrong, photographed the same locations to document their changes.  Together, father and son, were able to put together a before and after portrait of the city.  Works by Olivo Barbieri, Isidor Blasco, and Zhou Xishu are also included in this theme of Shanghai’s expansion and modernization.  The final theme is Glorifying the City which focuses on the present and the future of Shanghai.  Liu Gang’s Paper Dreams relates to the advertising to the new generation of Chinese.  In this work, the attention is on how this new need to keep up with your neighbor socially and materially is creating anxiety in the culture.  3-D was a format used by Cao Fel in Second Life.  In this work, participants are able to live out their dreams. 

The reading, Urban Destruction and Construction, starts with a description of Huang Yan’s work. He completed rubbings of building that were going to be demolished. He did this in three stages: before the building was demolished; during the process and finally after the building was demolished. Yan spent 10 years doing his work. The second work described is by Zhan Wang. He would clean and paint a remaining door frame or floor of a half demolished building. His work was photograph prior to the building being torn down completely later in the day. Rockery Remolding Plan by Wang, used stainless steel plates to create artificial mountains. Through the modernization of China, there was a need to still connect to nature. In Wang’s work he used stainless steel because of the nature of the metal. It does not rust. It reflects colors in the environment. Images are somewhat distorted in the reflection. He hoped this would inspire the viewer’s dreams and hopes. More importantly, stainless steel will not change even though it is in a constant environment of change.

The final piece was written by Chen Shaoxiong. In the piece, Shaoxiong explains the value of a photograph. It is a moment in time and has no relation to the past or the future. A single photograph captures on scene. You do not see what is to the left or the right of the image. In the work, Shaoxiong created a collage of images of the streets of Guanghou. By placing a series of photographs together, a complete picture will emerge. The problem was the streets constantly changed therefore the work could never be completed.

Performance & Intervention II

The Urban Event: Spectacle Resistance and Hegemony by Karen Jones starts with a comparison of the similarities between a potlatch and a riot.  The similarities are based on shared community interests.  A potlatch is a Native American practice where one tribal chief offers gifts in response to the offering of a gift from another tribal chief.   The process is considered a communal social exchange however it can escalate to the extent of property destruction.  On the other hand, a riot is also based on a common response to an action, policy or social event.  Similar to a potlatch, a riot can also escalate to property destruction and loss of lives.  The two sides of a riot are the common people and the Repressive State Apparatus (RSA).  The RSA consists of the government, army, police and any other federal or state appointed authority. 

Graffiti is a type of riot in an art form.  In the 70s and early 80s, the urban youth literally took to the streets, subways, and other public spaces to express their ideas on changes in their community.  They considered these areas as public space therefore open to their expressions.  The RSA had other ideas and tried to stop graffiti from spreading.  However as we know today, graffiti is still alive and well in our communities  Several of the graffiti artist became known through their tags such as Crash, Daze, Futura 2000, and Lady Pink.  Graffiti techniques and vocabulary lead to artists such as Jean-Michael Basquiat and Al Diaz. 

Daze, 1977

Futura

Banksy

Andy Warhol captured an image of the Birmingham Race Riot in 1964.  The image appeared in Life magazine.  The mass production of the mechanically produced image shows the clash between police, their attack dogs and the non-aggressive demonstrators.  Warhol accomplished several things with Birmingham Race Riot.  First the image reached the fine art culture and then through publishing it reached the common people.  And last it got the World to see firsthand the destruction and barbarity produced by the RSA. 

When you first imagine a riot, you see visions of disorder, screaming people with police in riot gear confronting them.  This is what the media and government would like us to think of when we hear riot.  However, Karen Jones describes a riot as an “uprising, event, rebellion, or revolutionary movement.”  I think this definition gives a riot meaning and honor.  It is standing up for your beliefs not standing against other’s beliefs.  A riot begins with a peaceful belief in a movement.  Very rarely is a riot the first stage of a demonstration.  It is only when the two conflicting sides lash out at each other that a riot ensues.  I have to wonder what is in for the government (police) to start an aggressive movement towards peaceful demonstrators.  Are they trying to silence the demonstrations?  Are they are trying to scare them?  Or are they simply trying to make the demonstrators appear to be the aggressors therefore have the spectators side with the police? 

One example of a police ensued riot is The Tompkins Square Riot on August 6, 1988 which began with about 100 people who oppose the 1a.m. curfew order to clear the homeless from public places.  The peaceful organized group was met with police aggression.  The police caused panic throughout the community. 

Several art installations address the issues of homelessness due to urban development.  Wodiczko’s New York City Tableaux: Tompkins Square depicts military equipment superimposed over photos of the homeless.  Cold Shoulders by David Hammons shows three ice blocks wrapped in overcoats.  The melting ice block refers to the freezing of the homeless in streets and parks. 

Two-Way Street by Lydia Yee discusses two approaches to street-based photography.  The first example is time exposure used by Eugene Atget.  The second is “a la savette” or on the run used by Henri Cartier-Bresson.  Yee states that these two types of photography, "the archive and the event remained distinct until the 1960s". Two exhibits at Museum of Modern Art in New York are New Documents (1967) and Information (1970). New Documents focused on three photographers, Diane Arbus, Lee Friedlander and Garry S Winogrand.  They were a new generation of photographers who wanted to be part of life not reform it.  Information included works from Vito Acconci, John Baldessari, Dan Graham, Hans Haacke, Bruce Nauman, Adrian Piper, Edward Ruscha and Robert Smithson. 

Yee writes about David Wojnarwicz who photographs various locations in New York City while wearing a mask of French poet, Arthur Rimbaud.  Wojnarwicz relates to Rimbaud’s rebellious nature.  Wojnarwicz states “I’ve always treated the camera as a journalistic devise but at the same time, for years and years I’ve taken pictures of things because they were psychologically loaded…photographs were like words in a sentence…what I try to do is to construct paragraphs out of the multiple images.” 

Finally Yee writes about Nikki S. Lee’s images.  Lee put herself in various scenes and photographed herself in them.  The street is important in her photographs.  These photographs are self-portraits as well documenting the culture surrounding Lee. 

As mentioned in last week’s blog, “our physical, mental and artistic world is always changing.”  The same came be said about the streets.  It provides an ever-changing canvas for art.