Edward Burtynsky by Megan Hammond
These are the words of Edward Burtynsky, a globally renowned Canadian photographer best known for his hauntingly beautiful images of manufactured landscapes. Burtynksy's fascination of man-made landscapes and their short-term and long-term consequences for society can be classified as art of the Anthropocene."Our achievements became an infinite source of possibilities. But time goes on and that flush of wonder began to turn.”
You may be asking yourself—so what exactly can be classified as art of the anthropocene?
With geologic, historical, philosophical, and environmental influences, the Anthropocene is a fluid concept that continues to be modified by the media and modern technology. While art of the Anthropocene may take various forms, it serves two purposes: first, to depict how human intervention has led to an eerily beautiful realignment of the sublime and secondly, to provoke reflection without conveying a concrete conclusion or course of action.
Burtynsky's artwork exemplifies this two-fold definition of anthropocentric art. Burtynsky’s work depicts man-made landscapes of all kinds varying from salt pans, bodies of water, mines, and oil. In addition to his still-work, Burtynsky has assisted in the release of three documentaries entitled Anthropocene, Watermark, and Manufactured Landscapes. From these aerial views, Burtynsky’s work is breathtakingly beautiful, but at the same time there is an eeriness to these photographs of manipulated landscapes. This juxtaposition provokes reflection and calls for a conversation about sustainability without immediately blaming specific groups of people or suggesting a magical solution.
While the viewer may initially be moved by the grandeur of these manufactured landscapes, there is something “intrinsically unsettling and disturbing” about the post-modern sublime (Boschman and Trono 125). In a traditional sense, the sublime is understood to be naturally beautiful and serene. Burtynsky’s work, however, conveys the post-modern sublime, a sensation that reveals the same sense of grandeur, but this feeling is oriented towards man-made landscapes, rather than organic nature. The emotions behind this notion of the post-modern sublime are puzzling in one sense, but it embodies Immanuel Kant’s definition of the sublime. “For Kant, the sublime landscape is [sic] un-categorizable, falling between known emotions such as pleasure and pain, beauty and ugliness, and defying a logical understanding of the world” (Snake-Beings 2).
In order to better understand how Burtynsky's work exemplifies this Kantian philosophy, it is imperative to break down the fundamentals of Kant's understanding of the sublime. For Kant, the sublime is understood as a threshold where beauty and pain intersect. Consequently, this juxtaposition is unsettling and floods the viewer or reader with a sense of uneasiness. There are no words that adequately capture this sensation of both beauty and pain, which is what characterizes the sublime for Kant. To say that Burtynsky's work is classified as the post-modern sublime is to suggest that these manufactured landscapes are the source of uneasiness because there is something intrinsically unsettling about mankind playing God, but the beauty that radiates from these aerial images cannot be overlooked at the same time.
Since art of the Anthropocene is designed to evoke a newfound level of consciousness without having a confrontational tone, it is no surprise that conversations about ethics arise. In fact, the Anthropocene itself “arises from a shared sense of catastrophe that confronts us with multiple ethical challenges” (Malkmus 72). As Burtynsky notes in a 2008 TedTalk, the relationship between corporations funding the work in coal mines and oil rigs, along with the viewer’s understanding of privilege, defines his/her ability to view his work in a nonjudgmental way.
Furthermore, the viewer is confronted with a new sense of urgency and should begin to question what role his/her thoughts and actions have in the destruction of global landscapes. Factually stated, “the less countries manufacture, the less damage they do in producing carbon dioxide” (Ferguson 34). However, Burtysnky challenges the notion that blaming China for this environmental pollution should be the natural response. Instead, it should spark a global discussion to address how humanity as a whole has collectively contributed to the current and future environmental state through both direct and indirect actions.
His photography and film of industrial landscapes in China featured in Manufactured Landscapes encompasses this challenge, as the viewer is overwhelmed by the focus of mass consumerism through the construction of man-made landscapes such as skyscrapers, factories, and automobiles (Schlimme et. al). This conflicting reaction stems for Kant’s aesthetic theory of the sublime, which illustrates “what it’s like to feel that the world is posing a problem to all of the usual ways we have of conceiving our actions” (Ferguson 36).
The still photos seen in the “China” collection are discussed in more detail throughout Manufactured Landscapes. The Wang Zhou photos for example, appear to be the aftermath of grand destruction or catastrophe. As Burtysnky explains in the film, this is not the scene of a catastrophe. Rather, this is the norm in a city driven by consumerism, always searching for more materials. Additionally, Burtysnky exposes how the concept of recycling in China differs from the American conception of recycling. In images “China Recycling 12” and “China Recycling 22”, the viewer can grasp that all kinds of items are disassembled and repurposed, and this idea is much larger than simply reusing paper or plastic bottles. This uncomfortable feeling that the environment poses a problem to the future of humanity perhaps is directed in a way that allows the reader to reflect on his/her choices and those around him/her to identify problematic behaviors and ways to collectively address these as global citizens. There is something so oddly transfixing in these images of piles and mounds of materials, yet it is startling to see how the environment is being molded by consumerism.
In his photography collection entitled “Water”, Burtynsky examines how humans have molded bodies of water and how these bodies of water have influenced man. As seen in this collection, the intricacy of the water channels and tributaries is stunning; yet, there is something unnatural and mysterious about these images. This collection encompasses a wide variety of water sources. From the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 to the Colorado River Delta in Baja, Mexico to the Netherlands, India, Florida, and California, Burtynsky’s work spans across the world in an attempt to convey how man has molded water over time. Additionally, this wide spectrum of images illustrates how there is no identical environment; even within the same country there is great diversity. For example, Burtynsky’s image of the marine blue hues of Phosphor Tailings Pond in Polk County, Florida, bears practically no resemblance to the muddy waters of Owen’s Lake in California. Burtynsky attempts to infiltrate the viewer’s sense of uneasiness to start a global conversation about conservation, ethical responsibility, and suggestions for a sustainable future.
It is also interesting to note that the majority of photos do not depict humans, despite the fact that human actions have been the catalyst for environmental change. Once again, this is a conscious choice by Burtynsky in order to ensure that he is not alienating the viewer by pressing a larger political or ethical dilemma. However, the photos within the Water collection that do contain people cannot be overlooked. Their presence within the images affirms the global shift to consumerism and the commodification of nature. Perhaps Burtynsky also includes these images to suggest that at some point there will not be enough natural resources to sustain the growing population.
Let's return to Burtynsky's quote from the beginning: "Our achievements became an infinite source of possibilities. But time goes on and that source of wonder began to turn." Burtynsky seeks to address the ethical responsibilities and repercussions of creating man-made landscapes and suggests that perhaps there is not a precise formula that can be used to predict man's impact on the environment one hundred years from now. While the possibilities of the imagination are ceaseless, this creative freedom may in fact be a source of danger. Through his photographs, Burtynsky forces the viewer to question whether or not technology and the creation of manufactured landscapes has reached the point of diminishing return.
Burtynksy deliberately does not suggest a specific course of action because he does not want to alienate his viewers by placing blame upon them. In his oil collection, Burtynsky remarks on the role of technology in landscaping. He does not encourage any particular intervention against the oil industry, nor does he condemn the actions of industry leaders. He explains that his inspiration for the oil collection was the automobile industry, which has impacted every single economy in some way, shape, or form. This oil collection begins with the oil sands of Alberta and then progresses to factories, intricate machinery, and magnificently engineered bridges and highways. One can only marvel at the brilliance behind the automobile and the complexity of this industry and how it has impacted way of life; yet, once again there is an eeriness to these pictures as man shifts from being in the background to being the center of attention.
By analyzing the post-modern sublime, Burtynsky re-imagines the utility of technology and innovation. While he marvels at it, he also suggests that this idea of consumerism and mass innovation may negatively affect landscapes in the future (if they have not already done so). Ultimately, Burtynsky forces the viewer to wrestle with this sense of uneasiness caused by the juxtaposition between beauty and consumerism in order to provoke a global conversation about the consequences of manufactured landscapes.
Credits/Works Cited