By Kiša Lala
Monegros County, Aragon, Spain 2010 Chromogenic Color Print 60 x 80 inches Edition 2/3 photographed by Edward Burtynsky
Edward Burtynsky’s photographs of mines, quarries, oil fields, ships and airplane graveyards have transformed landscapes of devastation into a thing of beauty. His new photographic series depicts the earth from above, abstracting the terraced farming practices of Spain into a Kandinsky-like painted canvas.
Burtynsky is passionate about the environment, but his work attempts to frame the truth without judgment. Burtynsky spoke in general to me about the farming practices he’s photographed, citing that a country like China had been largely agrarian in the past. “80% used to be involved in growing food for the rest. Now with mechanical advantages…a tractor can create precise patterns with ploughing on gps.”
Burtynsky explained that only a tiny segment of the population, just about 2% in the USA, is now responsible for feeding the rest of the country, my assumption being that the rest of us are in media or finance busy manufacturing paper money… For my more detailed interview with Burtynsky, read here.
Monegros County, Aragon, Spain 2010 Chromogenic Color Print 48 x 64 inches Edition 1/6 photographed by Edward Burtynsky
Edward Burtynsky - Aragon, Spain 2010 Chromogenic Color Print 39 x 52 inches Edition 2/9 photographed by Edward Burtynsky
Monegros County, Aragon, Spain 2010, Chromogenic Color Print, 48 x 64 inches Edition 1/6 photographed by Edward Burtynsky
Monegros County, Aragon, Spain_ 2010 Chromogenic Color Print 60 x 80 inches Edition 1/3 photographed by Edward Burtynsky
The exhibition at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery features works shot in the gypsum hills of Monegros in northeastern Spain where the farmlands of barley and corn carve painterly patterns into the arid terrain. Farming the earth brings the white mineral to the surface which seem like dustings of fallen snow, but in fact are nutrients that enrich the dry land, helping the crops to grow without irrigation.
A second exhibition at Howard Greenberg Gallery Pentimento contains a retrospective of Burtynsky’s photographs exploring the tension between industry and nature.
Burtynsky’s work is also appearing in a group show Being American organized by School of Visual Arts (SVA) presenting responses by visual artists to ’some of the most pressing social issues in America today’, ranging from recent environmental catastrophes to the pervading effects of the economic crisis.
Castile-La Mancha, Spain 2010 Chromogenic Color Print 48 x 64 inches Edition 1/6 photographed by Edward Burtynsky
Monegros County, Aragon, Spain 2010 Chromogenic Color Print 39 x 52 inches Edition 4/9 photographed by Edward Burtynsky
Castile-La Mancha, Spain 2010 Chromogenic Color Print 39 x 52 inches 99.1 x 132.1 cm. Edition 3/9 photographed by Edward Burtynsky
Until December 10th 2011:
Dryland Farming: http://www.brycewolkowitz.com and
Pentimento at http://www.howardgreenberg.com/
From November 22 — December 21:
“Being American” at Visual Arts Gallery,
School of Visual Arts, 601 West 26 Street, New York City
