Analysis
The visual impact of Burtunsky’s photographs is not only due to the way that they push the boundaries of industrial photography, but to the sharp focus and large depth of field that result in a collective visual representation of pollution. If the depth of field had been shallow, only a handful of tires would be clear, thus the meaning of the photograph would be lost. Thus Burtynsky’s photography literally ‘puts things into perspective’ therefore the viewer is unable to bury his heading the sand and must be confronted by what he has contributed to (in this case the deterioration of nature).
The natural lighting from the sun is often times dispersed and soft to trivialise the damage and implications of the themes shown in his photographs, by giving a naturalists appearance to the ‘foreign alien’ landscape. Additionally, the soft light results in minimal harsh shadows thus enhancing the foreign appearance of the objects. As the man made landscape is juxtaposed to the (as of yet) untouched landscape, there is a clear contrast between humans and nature, and possibly reflects how far humanity is willing to sacrifice nature in order to support the consumistic society of the 21st Century. Photographs which feature the sea or beach a golden light from the setting sun (golden hour) glamourizes the industrialised scenes. As his photography is solely outdoors the landscapes gain a spontaneity which heightens their figurative meaning.
The lines are primarily geometric and straight, although this depends on the subject, for example the photograph of the tires is a repetition of circles which create illusionary lines into the middle due to their slant. Burtynsky utilises lines in order to re-enforce the strong composition, and as they are often horizontal or vertical, there is a lack of movement, thus contrasting the movement of nature and man's stillness. As a result it is implied that nature is always fresh whilst humanity's constructions are tedious and mundane. They vary to keep the photograph fresh, and are used to bisect/split the landscape. The lines are parallel, converging, or crossing and ultimately make up a mass, giving rigidity to the photograph and enhancing the power of the industry. That is another example of contrast: the gentleness of nature and the stoic industrial. The result is a metaphorical, where the bisection is the imaginary line that we should not cross over, and contrast industrialisation with nature. Overall, the impact is that our constructions look parasitic or out of place.
Similarly, the shapes are geometric, the exception being the natural elements which are more even and yet contrastingly wild, in comparison to the tame man-made architectural components. The two types of shapes embed contrast in order to convey the difference between nature and humans. Nature is graceful, humanity is cold and grotesque. However the shapes also add depth and the elevated angle gives a stretched perspective. The space is completely positive so that the overwhelming level of pollution is clearly communicated to the audience as it creates the illusion that there is no space and therefore the trash keeps mounting up and up, until there is no room to move. Effectively, space is used in order to convey a sense of suffocation. The forms re-enforce this as they are straight and have volume, leading to a heavy photograph.
The repetition of elements is key in the emotionally charged photos, as the pattern creates a plain, never-ending landscape of the same shapes which are strictly controlled. This pattern is horrifying, tiresome, overly symmetric and tight. It feels as though the natural landscape is being suffocated and buried under our greed, hence a clear reflection of what humanity has done.
One can conclude that Edward Burtynsky's photography is deeply moving, thrusting reality onto us, trivialising and exposing industrialisation in a poetically metaphorical way which serves to denounce our consumerist society. The most relevant aspect of his photography is the contrast between natural and man-made landscapes to portray the way that we have ravaged and reformed the land that we inhabit and to expose what we have done.
The natural lighting from the sun is often times dispersed and soft to trivialise the damage and implications of the themes shown in his photographs, by giving a naturalists appearance to the ‘foreign alien’ landscape. Additionally, the soft light results in minimal harsh shadows thus enhancing the foreign appearance of the objects. As the man made landscape is juxtaposed to the (as of yet) untouched landscape, there is a clear contrast between humans and nature, and possibly reflects how far humanity is willing to sacrifice nature in order to support the consumistic society of the 21st Century. Photographs which feature the sea or beach a golden light from the setting sun (golden hour) glamourizes the industrialised scenes. As his photography is solely outdoors the landscapes gain a spontaneity which heightens their figurative meaning.
The lines are primarily geometric and straight, although this depends on the subject, for example the photograph of the tires is a repetition of circles which create illusionary lines into the middle due to their slant. Burtynsky utilises lines in order to re-enforce the strong composition, and as they are often horizontal or vertical, there is a lack of movement, thus contrasting the movement of nature and man's stillness. As a result it is implied that nature is always fresh whilst humanity's constructions are tedious and mundane. They vary to keep the photograph fresh, and are used to bisect/split the landscape. The lines are parallel, converging, or crossing and ultimately make up a mass, giving rigidity to the photograph and enhancing the power of the industry. That is another example of contrast: the gentleness of nature and the stoic industrial. The result is a metaphorical, where the bisection is the imaginary line that we should not cross over, and contrast industrialisation with nature. Overall, the impact is that our constructions look parasitic or out of place.
Similarly, the shapes are geometric, the exception being the natural elements which are more even and yet contrastingly wild, in comparison to the tame man-made architectural components. The two types of shapes embed contrast in order to convey the difference between nature and humans. Nature is graceful, humanity is cold and grotesque. However the shapes also add depth and the elevated angle gives a stretched perspective. The space is completely positive so that the overwhelming level of pollution is clearly communicated to the audience as it creates the illusion that there is no space and therefore the trash keeps mounting up and up, until there is no room to move. Effectively, space is used in order to convey a sense of suffocation. The forms re-enforce this as they are straight and have volume, leading to a heavy photograph.
The repetition of elements is key in the emotionally charged photos, as the pattern creates a plain, never-ending landscape of the same shapes which are strictly controlled. This pattern is horrifying, tiresome, overly symmetric and tight. It feels as though the natural landscape is being suffocated and buried under our greed, hence a clear reflection of what humanity has done.
One can conclude that Edward Burtynsky's photography is deeply moving, thrusting reality onto us, trivialising and exposing industrialisation in a poetically metaphorical way which serves to denounce our consumerist society. The most relevant aspect of his photography is the contrast between natural and man-made landscapes to portray the way that we have ravaged and reformed the land that we inhabit and to expose what we have done.