Manufactured Landscapes
December 14, 2009 12:15 PM   Subscribe

Manufactured Landscapes: Photographer Edward Burtynsky captures haunting and beautiful images of landscapes devasted by industy and by waste. He has won numerous awards including the TED prize.

I know Edward Burtynksy has been mentioned here before, but I could find only one single link FPP from several years ago. I love his work and thought he was worthy of more coverage.
posted by blue shadows (14 comments total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is excellent stuff.
posted by jquinby at 12:21 PM on December 14, 2009


Yeah, the documentary economical with narration, but incredibly powerful and profoundly depressing.
posted by marvin at 12:37 PM on December 14, 2009


*was* (can't type)
posted by marvin at 12:38 PM on December 14, 2009


The scale of this inspires awe.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:28 PM on December 14, 2009


Some of those are quite beautiful. The nickel tailings, the green quary water, the rail lines along steep slopes, and the iron works are starkly attractive.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 1:35 PM on December 14, 2009


The film is utterly fascinating. The opening scene is remarkable and mere words can't describe it (and I wouldn't want to give a spoiler).
posted by twsf at 1:46 PM on December 14, 2009


Great, and depressing.

...that web site didn't try and resize my browser like it was 2001, did it? No one would do that these days.
posted by maxwelton at 2:10 PM on December 14, 2009


He was a nomination for the Prix Pictet this year too [along with our favourite shutterbug, Edgar Martins].
posted by tellurian at 2:34 PM on December 14, 2009


I'd like to see an exhibition that paired his work in the West with Edward Weston's and Ansel Adams'.
posted by klangklangston at 2:36 PM on December 14, 2009


He also runs a nifty photo lab: Toronto Image Works.
posted by scruss at 2:38 PM on December 14, 2009


Burtinsky donated sixteen pieces of his work to our local museum, and I had a chance to speak with him. Currently he's working on getting permission from the Saudi Arabian government to take photographs of the Ghawar Field, the largest oil field in the world, to go with his series that includes Kuwait, Azerbaijan, and the Albertan Oil Sands. I asked him how he gets his stunning photos (they're huge in real life, easily 5' x 5'), and he says that he's got a special gyroscope mount that he uses on a helicopter, and to print them uses his own facility in Toronto.
posted by furtive at 3:22 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


I visited the Manufactured Landscapes while it was at the National Gallery. The images are even more stunning in person; not only does he have a great eye, but his craft is impeccable as well, making for a very memorable experience.
posted by Bovine Love at 4:04 PM on December 14, 2009


I see two previous FPPs. I remember because that first one, six years ago, is mine.

Burtynsky caught my eye at the Art Basel Miami show then. He was just one of among hundreds of featured artists then but his photography was really attractive and so I googled up his website.
posted by vacapinta at 4:18 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


And just so you know, tailings piles really are that orange. The worst thing is that you have to start breaking people's knees before someone cleans it up, and even then it's the government.
posted by dunkadunc at 4:58 PM on December 14, 2009


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