Edward Burtynsky Livres

In 1997 I had what I refer to as my oil epiphany. It occurred to me that the vast, human-altered landscapes that I pursued and photographed for over twenty years were only made possible by the discovery of oil and the mechanical advantage of the internal combustion engine. It was then that I began the oil project. Over the next ten years I researched and photographed the largest oil fields I could find. I went on to make images of refineries, freeway interchanges, automobile plants and the scrap industry that results from the recycling of cars. Then I began to look at the culture of oil, the motor culture, where masses of people congregate around vehicles, with vehicle events as the main attraction. These images can be seen as notations by one artist contemplating the world as it is made possible through this vital energy resource and the cumulative effects of industrial evolution."

After some 25 years of exploring the impact of industry on our planet, the celebrated Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky has accumulated a substantial body of work documenting the world's major quarries--in Canada, Italy, China, Spain, Portugal, India and America. Quarries are, of course, a crucial source for the buildings we construct, and as such, a negative correlative of what we add to the world--as well as a tangible (and neglected) evidence for our ongoing dependence on its resources. Somewhere a building is being created while a landscape is being destroyed, and, as Burtynsky writes, "quarries...are places that are outside of our normal experience, yet we partake of their output on a daily basis." His images of these plundered landscapes are simultaneously beautiful and disquieting.

The book delves into Edward Burtynsky's extensive 45-year career, showcasing his striking photographs that document large-scale extractive processes while also transforming industrial landscapes into abstract forms. It features insightful texts by art historian Simon Schama and curator Marc Mayer, discussing the role of art in environmental awareness and Burtynsky's artistic journey. With over 130 color plates and a special "Process Archive," the book highlights Burtynsky's evolution from traditional film to modern digital techniques, offering a comprehensive look at his impact on photography and environmental discourse.

A controversial idea currently under vigorous and passionate international debate that would recognize the "human signature" on the planet. Anthropocene is the latest book by Edward Burtynsky, Jennifer Baichwal, and Nick de Pencier to chronicle the massive and irreversible impact of humans on the Earth -- on a geological scale. In photographs that are both stunning and disconcerting, Burtynsky, Baichwal, and de Pencier document species extinction (the burning of elephant tusks to disrupt the illegal trade of ivory), technofossils (swathes of discarded plastic forming geological layers), and terraforming (mines and industrial agriculture). The book also features a range of essays by artists, curators, and scientists, some part of an international group of scientists who have proposed that the Earth is now entering a new era of geological time where human activity is the driving force behind environmental and geological change -- i.e. the Anthropocene. Thus the book brings contemporary art into conversation with environmental science and anthropology on a topic that urgently affects all of us. Anthropocene will be published to coincide with a major international exhibition opening simultaneously in September 2018 at the Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada and the release of a film on the same topic by Baichwal and de Pencier. The exhibition will travel to Fondazione MAST in Bologna in the spring of 2019.

There is no life without water. Burtynsky's new and highly anticipated book Water tells us the story of where water comes from, how we use it, distribute and waste it. Often using a bird's-eye perspective, the photographer shows us its remote sources, remarkable ancient step-wells and mass bathing rituals, the transformation of desert into cities with waterfronts on each doorstep, the compromised landscapes of the American Southwest. Furthermore, Burtynsky explores the infrastructure of water management: the gigantic hydroelectric dams and terraced rice fields in the heart of China, the vast irrigation systems of America's bread basket and the use of aquaculture. The colour photographs in this book are poetic and at the same time highly relevant: they reveal another vital component of our life on earth that drives the bloom of civilization, and foreshadow the extent to which our future depends on our everyday behaviour in dealing with this increasingly scarce resource.

Edward Burtynsky's imagery explores the intricate link between industry and nature, combining the raw elements of mining, quarrying, shipping, oil production and recycling into eloquent, highly expressive visions that find beauty and humanity in the most unlikely places. These images are metaphors for the dilemma of our modern existence: we are drawn by desire--the desire to live well and in comfort--yet we all know that the world is suffering to meet those demands. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into uneasy contradiction and feeds the dialogue in Burtynsky's images between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. Burtynsky's latest body of work gives visual form to the industrial and urban transformation of China, a place where industrial forces are gathering on a scale that the world has never experienced before. If the earth's resources were up to now under siege through western colonialism and technological progress, then China is on the brink of a sweeping assault on the planet's ecosystem that is only just forming and is nowhere close to expressing its full impact.

Writers and artists imagine the transition to a carbon-free future and the radical reinvention of energy that would make it possible.

The photographs capture the profound impact of human activity on African landscapes, revealing a striking blend of abstract art and environmental commentary. Burtynsky explores themes of terraforming, urbanization, and resource extraction, highlighting the stark realities of industrial and human-induced changes. The work features various chapters, including a focus on China's economic influence in Africa, showcasing massive manufacturing facilities. This project represents seven years of Burtynsky's dedication to documenting the intricate relationship between humanity and the environment.

Acknowledging that photography is impossible to define, this intriguing reference strives to distil the meaning of photography in order to obtain the very essence of the medium without diminishing its importance as an art form. 50 iconic images by some of the world’s greatest photographers are paired with excerpts from interviews that explain each artist’s unique philosophy and detail their creative approach in relation to the photograph. Together they provide insights on function, perspective, and meaning. Thought-provoking, insightful, and ultimately inspirational, this engaging resource will appeal to all artists and photographers, and anyone who seeks a better understanding of the medium.

Die Welt am Abgrund Edward Burtynsky zählt neben Andreas Gursky und Thomas Struth zu den herausragenden Fotografen seiner Generation, die schonungslos dokumentieren, was unsere Umwelt durch ungezügelte globalisierte Finanz- und Wirtschaftsinteressen erleidet. Erstmals bietet die vorliegende Publikation eine umfassende Rückschau auf das bisherige Werk von Edward Burtynsky. Zusammengestellt von William A. Ewing, beinhaltet dieser Band sowohl bekannte ikonische Aufnahmen als auch bislang unveröffentlichte Entdeckungen. Jedem der fünf Kapitel werden Texte früherer Publikationen vorangestellt. Ein Essay von Joshua Schuster und ein Einleitungstext von Ewing ordnen die visuellen Eindrücke ein und ermöglichen einen Einblick in das vielschichtige Werk dieses außergewöhnlichen Fotografen.