by Burtynsky at VAG
Yesterday we finally went out to see A Terrible Beauty: Edward Burtynsky which is in its last week at the Vancouver Art Gallery. It is a focused survey of photographs the artist produced between 1983 and 2013, and represents all key bodies of his work, such as early series of homestead and rail line photographs shot in British Columbia in the early 1980s, his documentation of the extraordinary growth and transformation of China in the past decade and a new, groundbreaking international project that is focused on the subject of water.
What a stunning exhibition with forty-four of this Canadian artist’s work, some of which I’ve seen in the past. The works are so very beautiful aesthetically, yet very shocking and disturbing once we realize what we are really looking at — the many examples of massive destruction of so much of this earth by industry, railroads, farming and other human activity.
Burtynsky is very particular about his images and does a great deal of research, planning and eventual manipulation on his photographs before printing in very large format. Sometimes they even look like paintings and they are all works of art, not just documentary photographs.
Most of Burtynsky’s exhibited photography (pre 2007) was taken with a large format field camera on large 4×5-inch sheet film and developed into high-resolution, large-dimension prints of various sizes and editions ranging from 18 x 22 inches to 60 x 80 inches. He often positions himself at high-vantage points over the landscape using elevated platforms, the natural topography, and more currently helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft… In 2007 he began using a high-resolution digital camera. (from wikipedia)
The timing of our visit did not work out for us to see his two films “The Manufactured Landscape” and “Watermark”.
Do visit Edward Burtynsky’s extensive website!
More:
– watch the video above or on Vancouver Art Gallery’s site with an introduction by the artist and Bruce Grenville, Senior Curator
– another video and an excellent interview by Kevin Griffin in the Vancouver Sun, discussing the artist’s process
– a good article in Galleries West magazine, Spring 2014 issue, pages 32-26
– check out my previous posts in June 2004, May 2005, October 2006. Some links have since expired.
ADDED May 2nd: Our daughter Erika visited this exhibition with us. Please read her profound thoughts on it here.
May 20, 2014 in Art Exhibitions, Other artists, Photography by Marja-Leena
Thank you for the links Marja-Leena. His work is remarkable, not least because of the beauty/tragedy aspects. He makes so much other contemporary art look like playing at the margins of worth.
Olga, he is an artist of our times. Often going behind the scenes to see the worst of what is going on, yet he never lectures on what is right or wrong – it’s just show and tell.
I’ve been looking at several sites (those you linked to and others) that have large versions of his water photographs and they are certainly as magnificent as anything he’s done before. It must have been an amazing experience to see them in a gallery.
I agree with him in his hope that these pictures will stimulate a process of thinking about something essential to our survival; something we often take for granted — until it’s gone.
Susan, yes, it was an amazing experience to see so many examples from his many series in the two large rooms. I even read each statement posted though I’m usually a bit lazy reading too much when all I want to do is look at the work, but they were so well written and full of insights that they enriched the viewing greatly. I’m thinking he may be becoming a bit more vocal and critical about the environmental concerns of the sites he photographs.
I’ve just read Erika’s excellent review of the show but wasn’t able to leave a comment. Please offer her my congratulations and best wishes for her own efforts. Perhaps she’d agree with my conclusion that the world is made up of two types of people in unequal balance – many empaths overruled by a few psychopaths.
Susan, thank you, I will send this to her. She has comments turned off because the quantity of spam was annoying.
I’m really glad you mention that photography is an art. I wish I could attend this exhibit.
He has numerous exhibitions around the world – maybe you’ll catch one somewhere in your travels!
Oh, and I just noticed you’d posted about this on your blog – thank you!
Interesting how beautiful some of the scraped and broken sites are, framed and seen through his lens–I can imagine you loving those images of Silver Lake and Kennecot, say.
Yes, I do love those and admire how he manipulates his photographs – an inspiration for me!
You have the same impulse–stopped by the beauty in a thing normally passed-over or disliked.
Ah, I do that indeed, you know my impulses and passions for unique textures, patterns, details in things that are weathered, breaking down, whether man-made or in nature. There is beauty everywhere, not just in the pretty flowers, that gorgeous sunset, the perfect and the new….