Canadian Photographer Edward Burtynsky - Essay Example

Canadian Photographer Edward Burtynsky Edward Burtynsky is one of the most famous Canadian photographers who received international recognition for his immense contributions in the field of industrial landscape photography. He particularly sought to merge the contemporary view of elements of nature including oil, transportation, minerals and silicon and stones. For example, most of Edward’s photographic images were metaphorically designed to represent the balance between nature and our modern existence. The current debates regarding global environmental conservation and sustainable living have substantially drawn inspiration and encouragement from Burtynsky’s images and photographs. After being awarded TED prize in 2005, one of his important wishes was the establishment of an environmental conservation website that will help young children to learn and develop the habit of going green at their tender age (TED, 2).This paper discusses the life of Edward Burtynsky, as well as his contributions to industrial landscape photography. Burtynsky was born in 1955 in Ontario, Canada. His parents were immigrants from Ukraine and at the age of 11, his father bought cameras and a dark room for making largely black and white photographic prints. He studied photography and graphic arts in his hometown and first attained a diploma in graphic arts at Niagra College before graduating with a degree in photographic arts at Ryerson University. Burtynsky’s interest in landscape photography was particularly inspired by his childhood experiences such as exposure to the areas around the General Motors plant where his father worked (Burntynsky 4). He consequently developed a strong passion for global industrial landscape and began to explore most parts of industrial world to identify and photograph some of the unique industrial and manufacturing landscapes. With the recent technological advancements and industrial development, nature has significantly transformed and this is the central theme of Burtynsky’s works. The photographic works of Burtynsky have been exhibited both in solo, as well as in numerous group exhibitions across several parts of the United States, Canada, Asia and Europe. Additionally, some of his famous prints are currently housed in corporate, public, as well as in private collections in several parts of the world. The major museums that exhibit Burtynsky’s works include the Canadian National Gallery, Guggenheim museum in New York and Bibliotheque Museum in Paris (Koch 2). Generally throughout his career as an artist, Burtynsky was awarded several fellowships and awards. Most of the famous artistic works were photographic images of landscapes that had been altered by industrial development. For example, some of the sites depicted in the photographs included quarry sites, mine tailings and scrap piles. The beauty of Burtynsky’s photographs was particularly achieved through the contrast and tension created by depicting compromised environments. He also toured several parts of the world, including China, to photograph some of the landscapes that had been altered by industrial development and construction industry such as the Three Gorges Dam. The success of Burtynsky’s artistic photography was largely as a result of the numerous experiences he accumulated that ranged from ranged from exposure to various images and sites to photographic work development. As a result, his photographic imagery explored a the intimate link between industry and nature by combining the various elements of manufacturing, mining, quarrying, oil production, shipping, as well as water recycling. Most of these places provided unique scenery which depicted beauty and a sense of humanity which significantly contrasted with the expectations of the viewers. The images and landscape photographs of Edward Burtynsky were diverse and mostly ranged from altered landscapes due to industrial activity, mountains, mining sites and rivers. These landscapes are often regarded as ugly and yet they can be beautifully depicted at the same time. By using a wide range of colors to enhance contrast, Burtynsky also effectively explored the role of humanity in the rapidly altered nature, as well as the various ways through which our planet’s surface has been shaped. Manufactured Landscape is one of the renowned documentaries that are largely based on the works of Edward Burtynsky such as the landscape images of factories, mines, dams recycling fields and industrial debris. These images are often presented in a manner that depict them as beautiful and highlights both the aesthetics and ethics involved without necessarily addressing such issues. The documentary particularly captures scenes obtained from Burtunsky’s tours across China while focusing on the countries massive industrial development. Some of the common sites include the famous Three Gorges Dam, the Shanghai urban development projects among other industrial landscape features. China is one of the countries that have recently experienced enormous social economic transformations due to industrial development. Consequently, the imagery effectively explored the delicate link between nature and the contemporary industrial development. The film was eventually nominated as the best documentary during the 2008 film independent awards. Edward Burtynsky’s primary interest was to highlight some of the ways through which humanity has impacted on nature and landscape. This particularly explains why he concentrated on documenting the industrial effects on nature for nearly 20 years. For example, in the work known as “Dryland Farming”, images of a beautiful landscape being encroached upon human activities related to agricultural farming. This piece of work further manifests Burtynsky’s view that farming is one the prevalent human activities that have significantly contributed to the transformation of nature and altered landscape throughout the world. The topographic features that are depicted in the dry land farming were originally taken from a helicopter above the area and the artists specifically focused on the unique lively shapes and colors. In this regard, the theme of terra-transformation is effectively highlighted using various visual correlations of farming, waterways and landscape. A majority of Edward’s photographic images are, however, presented in a way that they bring out the balance between nature and our modern existence. On the other hand, most of Burtynsky’s large scale color photographs have documented various facets of nature and how it has been transformed through industry and other human activities (Bluestein 2). By using detailed landscape images and balanced landscape pictures such as the images of ship breaking yards and industrial oil refineries, the artist has clearly highlighted the current societal dilemma regarding man’s quest for prosperity and the damage being impacted on the environment. In his work Manufactured Landscapes, Burtynsky depicted a diverse number of landscape images that have been significantly transformed as a result of human activities that are undertaken in pursuit of progress and development. He takes the viewers though different photographic sites that demonstrates the effects of industry on nature such as during extraction of minerals, refining oil, transportation among other human economic activities. On the other hand, Burttynsky’s quarry photographs documented in his book the “Quarries” captured various photographs depicting marbles from different continents. In his opinion, areas that are left by the removal of stones include manmade landscapes and geometric abstractions. Although such landscapes are naturally regarded as ugly, Edward Burtynsky used high quality colored reproductions to create contrast and bring out the beauty of such altered landscapes (Sun,1). This photographic documentary, therefore, explores the effects of the shifting human industrial activities on the environment. The latest documented work of Edward Burtynsky known as China is largely an artistic representation of the current rapid industrial growth in China. This is particularly depicted in form of landscapes such as manufacturing mills, steel mills, urban construction projects, ship yards and recycling depots among others. Some of these landscapes have been largely altered as a result of the heavy industrial projects that are currently ongoing in such areas. The other important photographic work by Edward Burtynsky completed in 1997 and titled Oil largely focused on landscapes that have been altered as a result of oil extraction in oil fields across several parts of the world. Although oil has significantly contributed to the current global development in terms of energy source for the production industries, transportation as well as various other uses, it has also resulted in serious environmental challenges such as altered landscapes and pollution. Some of the sites depicted in the photographs included quarry sites, mine tailings and scrap piles. According to Pauli (8), the beauty of Burtynsky’s photographs was particularly achieved through the contrast and tension created by depicting compromised environments. Another example of the uneasy relationship between the current human industrial activities and environmental conservation is the use of oil in the contemporary society. For example, our current culture of overreliance on motorized means of mobility has huge ecological costs that include diminished aesthetic beauty of our landscapes and overcrowding. Generally, one question that immediately comes to the mind of the viewers is what is likely to happen if oil is exhausted in the world. Additionally, Burtynsky’s images of ship breaking sites are also beautiful and disturbing at the same time. The images illustrate rusting old ships being dismantled with huge marooned skyscrapers on the background. In conclusion, Edward Burtynsky has immensely contributed to the field of industrial landscape photography through his unique photographic images which are metaphorically designed to represent the balance between nature and our modern existence. Such images effectively highlight the dilemma of our contemporary existence with regard attraction of nature and the repulsion caused by effects of human activities on the landscape. Works Cited Bluestein, Jonathan. “Edward Burtynsky interview”. Aphoto editor(APE). Dec. 2011.Web, 20 May, 2012. Burntynsky, Edwards. Edward Burtynsky Biography.2009. Web. 20 May, 2012. Koch, Robert. Edward Burtynsky. 2010. Web. 20 May, 2012. Pauli, Lori. Manufactured Landscapes: The Photographs of Edward Burtynsky. Ottawa: Yale University Press. 2003. Print. Sun, Feifei. Edward Burtynsky’s view from above. Oct. 2011. Web. 20 May, 2012. TED. Edward Burtynsky: Photographer. 2009. Web. 21 May, 2012. Read More