Views into the Works of Both the Artists - Edward Burtynsky and Banksy - Essay Example

?(Add (Add (Add Edward Burtynsky & Banksy Introduction Edward Burtynsky is an artist from Canada who has international recognition. He is known for his large-format photographs of industrial landscapes. A large number of museums in the world including the Guggenheim Museum, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris exhibit his works. Banksy is a graffiti artist from England whose identity is still uncertain. A look into the works of both the artists proves that they live in two different poles of the arts world. While the former’s works exhibit no social responsibility or reality other than aesthetics, the latter is a highly dedicated to mocking at the social issues. Thus, while Burtynsky tries to instill an artificial sense of beauty and comfort by taking his viewers away from reality, Banksy tries to make people aware about the social issues by portraying realities satirically. This article intends to compare and contrast both the artists. The early years Burtynsky was born in St. Catharines, Ontario. He was brought to the world of photographs by his father when he purchased a darkroom along with camera and instruction manuals. After gaining some knowledge in the field, he started a small business of taking portraits. Later on, he enrolled at the Ryerson Polytechnical Institute for better understanding of photography. Thus, he obtained a BAA in Media Studies Program. It seems that Burtynsky was influenced by a number of other artists. Some of them are Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Eadweard Muybridge, and Carleton Watkins (Edward Burtynsky: biography). Banksy was born in 1974 and brought up in Bristol. Though he was the son of a photocopier technician, he was destined to get training in butchery. However, the genius got himself involved in graffiti as it was the time of aerosol boom. Thus, his work shows similarity to the works of Blek le Rat, and Massive Attack (Brian Sewell Art Directory). Burtynsky concentrated mainly on landscapes which are altered by the advancement of industry; including mines, piles of scrap and quarries. However, the mere fact is that his photographs of industrial wilderness are often more beautiful than the landscapes it altered. Thus, one wonders if he is a fan of industrialization in a world where art and science do not cohabit. As Ballamingie points out, in order to cover the grand beauty of industrial landscapes, he even visited countries like China. On the other hand, Banksy’s works mainly deal with political and social themes. They cover messages including anti-war, anti-capitalism, anti-fascism, anti-imperialism, anti-authoritarianism, anarchism, nihilism, and existentialism. In addition, he exhibits mastery in exhibiting human conditions like poverty, despair, alienation, greed and hypocrisy. Technique Burtynsky is fond of large format field camera and his photographs are taken on 4x5 sheet film. They are then developed into high-resolution, large-dimension prints of nearly 50x60 inches. The photographs are often taken from higher platforms (“Artist analysis..”). Banksy is a street artist. So, his weapon was stencils. However, one has to assume that he even used computers to develop images because of the photocopy nature of his some works. According to Banksy, as he was too slow doing graffiti with stencils, he developed some intricate stencils which minimize time. His art work took every form and every place as he only considered efficacy as the prime aim. To illustrate, he painted his Gorilla in a pink mask on the exterior wall of a social club in Eastville. As Danny writes, as Banksy’s graffiti appeared in public places, at times, government officials considered his graffiti as a form of vandalism. Important works Burtynsky’s one photographic series was named ‘Mines’. It was photographed in Bingham Valley, Utah; Sudbury, Ontario; Butte, Montana; Highland Valley, British Columbia and Revelstoke, British Columbia. Another series ‘Homesteads’ was captured in Bingham Valley, Utah; Fort Macleod, Alberta; Upper New York State; Toronto, Ontario; Walkerville and Browning, Montana; and various places in British Columbia. The ‘Quarry’ appeared in the year 1992 with photographs from Rutland, and Barre in Vermont. Yet another important project was the ‘Railcuts’ series which contained photographs from Skihist Provincial Park, Fraser River, Thompson River, and Hope. Lastly, in 1991, he introduced the ‘Carrara Marble Quarries’ series which photographed Carrara, Italy. As Dargis reports, what Burtynsky’s photographs often miss is ‘any sense of process, of context and consequence’. For example, the documentary films ‘Manufactured Landscapes (2006) covers the industrialized China. In the film, the mountain of coal appears only as a matter of aesthetic value for Burtynsky. His art does not look into the miseries caused by the mining. In other words, the artwork has nothing to do with the nearly 6000 workers who died in Chinese mines in the year of 2005. Thus, two points come out prominent when Burtynsky is analyzed. First of all, he was interested not in natural landscape, but in industrial landscape. Secondly, he had the mastery to convert the awful creations and destructions of industrialization into beautiful, awe-inspiring pictures. The only fact is that his photographs only take the viewer away from the miseries of reality. He belongs to the class where art and aesthetics have nothing to do with reality. On the other hand, the work of Banksy tried to exhibit socially important subjects through striking and humorous works. For example, he held an exhibition in Los Angeles in 2006. The exhibition was named Barely Legal. It exhibited a live elephant in a room, which was painted in pink and gold floral wallpaper pattern. The intention of the exhibition was to draw public attention to the issue of world poverty. Similarly, on the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Banksy produced a number of works in New Orleans on the buildings which were derelict. In the year 2011, Banksy published a new lithographic print. It contained a smoking petrol bomb inside a bottle named ‘Tesco Value’. This work was intended to support the Bristol locals who were fighting against the opening of a Tesco Express supermarket in Bristol. There were bloody clashes and many were arrested. Through the work, Banksy was planning to raise money to help the rioting people. Similarly, as a response to the child abuse scandals which rocked the Catholic Church, there was the Cardinal Sin exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. In another similar instance, Banksy reached the Israeli-West Bank barrier and painted nine images there. One image was of a ladder going up and over the wall and another image was of children digging a hole through the wall. Thus, evidently, Banksy was an artist who used his art for important social purposes. Burtynsky and Banksy- a comparison of features A look into the performance of both the artists proves that the purpose of art is a relative construct. That means, historically, different artists from different time periods used art for different purposes. Now, at present, these artists use the same art for different purposes. Burtynsky selects photography as the medium of expression. For him, scenic beauty is the only thing to be conveyed to the viewers. So, he brings out beauty and perfection even in the midst of filth and poverty. Thus, for him, a hill of coal that ruins the life of many people is just a matter of scenic beauty. In other words, Burtynsky possesses the ability to see beauty even on the face of ruin. Burtynsky’s all works have their origin from areas where normal artists are least likely to search for beauty. In fact, the usual concept is to look for beauty in nature and wilderness and to look for destruction and chaos in industry-damaged landscapes. At least that is the picture the contemporary art and media love to propagate. So, most artists do not love to take a different course. It is at this juncture that one understands how differently art can work at times. Taking a sharp U turn, Burtynsky looks into the beauty of urbanization and industrialization. That means, with sheer artistic perfection, Burtynsky found beauty even in the most awkward things in the world. In sharp contrast, Banksy is an artist who came up from the street and hence, he selected street as his platform. Also, he differs from Burtynsky in the fact that his art serves two purposes; beauty and social responsibility. For Banksy, the purpose is not merely portraying the beautiful of the society but is about making people aware about the various social issues in the society. That means while Burtynsky’s photographs take the viewer to an imaginary world which has nothing to do with reality, Banksy’s pictures take the viewer to the depths of social realities. As scholars admit, the purpose of art is a controversial issue which is unlikely to settle even after generations. For those who argue that the purpose of art is to offer enjoyment and beauty, Burtynsky’s photographs epitomize the concept of artistic mastery. He possesses the skill to seek beauty and convert it into perfect photographs. However, Burtynsky’s photographs are a paradox in the modern world for the fact that his work has no emotional attachment with the human subjects and their feelings. For example, the large numbers of human factory workers in his photographs become mere artifacts for the artist. The humans are arranged in a particular fashion for scenic perfection. Thus, the totally hostile and unnatural man-made landscapes become such beautiful photographs which possess the capability to deceive the eyes of the beholder. It feels that camera is a better viewer than ones own eyes. In sharp contradiction is the works of Banksy. He wanted to make the people think about social realities and issues. While Burtynsky avoided human emotions, Banksy was intended to portray various human emotions and situations. Instead of creating an imaginary world, he depicted the real human issues by satirically portraying them on public platforms like abandoned buildings. Thus, one can say that both are perfect artists. However, if there is something called socially-responsible art, Burtynsky will not be included in the category. Works Cited Brian Sewell Art Directory-Banksy. (n.d). Web. 14 May 2012. Ballamingie, Patricia, Chen, Xiaobei, Henry, Eric & Nemiroff, Diana. “Edward Burtynsky’s China photographs: A multidisciplinary reading. Environments Journal, 37. 2 (2009/2010): 67. Danny. “Art: An analysis of Banksy.” The Find. (2010). Web. 14 May 2012. Dargis, Manohla. “Industrial China’s ravaging of nature, made disturbingly sublime.” New York Times: Movies. (20 June 2007). Web. 14 May 2012. Edward Burtynsky: Biography. (n.d). Web. 14 May 2012. “Artist analysis- Edward Burtynsky.” Melissamgreen. (2012). Web. 14 May 2012. Read More