Nathaniel Martinez
Paula King
Art History-101
June 15th, 2018
Paper on Edward Burtynsky
After looking through Edward Burtynsky's work I soon realized how amazing he is as an artist. His work is so profound in its demonstration of reality, and I love how we uses his work to really stress some of the major issues our world is having. An example of this is located on his website under the photograph tab where it says water. In this collection he has a maraud of images depicting many different lakes, rivers, and oceans. In this collection there are even some pictures of the oil spill that happened at the Gulf of Mexico. It amazes me as to how he was able to capture the perfect moment and be able to tell a story with just images. This gave me the immediate response of "wow!". Last semester I took history of photography, and in this class, we analyzed a lot of great photographer's work. This class helped me see the significance of photography as an art form and showed me just how much work is put into capturing the perfect image. I can tell from first glance that Edward poured his heart and soul into each and every photo he has taken. I think because of this aspect the audience can appreciate his work that much more.
The one project by Burtynsky that made an impression on me is Shipbreaking. The reason this made such an impression is because shipbreaking is such a tragic way of life. After watching a documentary on shipbreaking, it really opened my eyes to the parts of the world that are not as publicized. Before the documentary I had no idea that there were actual people breaking down ships into scrap metal. It is such a horrific site to see, and what makes it worse is the fact not a lot of people have any knowledge about it. So, when I saw Burtynsky highlighting this profession, it was rejuvenating. Not only was he able to capture these events happening, but he did it with such perfection. The on picture that he took that stood out to me the most was titled Shipbreaking #9a, Chittagong Bangladesh 2000. In this picture it portrays the parts from ships that have been recently broken down, with the team of men that did it. The reason why this picture is eye catching for me is because of the story it tells. There are these ship chunks that are larger than life, and eight men standing by them as if to give a size comparison. In this picture the way Burtynsky uses principle of design is by using balance proficiently. By placing the very large ship parts more in the center and placing the eight men more off to the side, it makes it so that when you look at the picture it has good symmetry. Another way he uses principle of design is with proximity. Placing the eight men closer to one of the ship parts creates a good relationship for how large these objects are. (The Principle of Design) The way Burtynsky uses visual elements is the tone in the image. By first glance you can notice that the objects closer to where the picture was taken have a lot more details and are darker, and as you get to the objects more in the back, they have less details with more lighting. Another way he uses visual elements is the lines. In this picture there are a lot of vertical and curved lines, this helps to create a tone for the image, and brings more depth to the picture. (The Visual Elements of Art).
The first picture I am going to be analyzing is titled Old Factories #1. The first thing you'll notice about this picture is a huge tower with the top of it cut off right in the center of the image, along with the work factories across both sides. In front of the factories are what appears to be huge slabs of metal. If you look closely you will also notice that most of the factories windows are open, suggesting that when they were in use it probably got smoky or hot inside. The way in which he uses principle of design is by placing the tower in the middle. In doing this he is creating good balance and symmetry, this is because he is placing the largest image towards the center which builds contrast. Another way uses principle of design is with the alignment of the image. When looking at this picture the first thing you can notice is the symmetry. This was achieved by aligning the tower perfectly in the center and having a proportional amount of each factory on the sides. (The Principles of Design). The way in which he uses visual elements is with this images patterns. By creating symmetry with the factories, it creates great contrast and gives the illusion that the buildings continue forever. Another way in which he uses visual elements is with the images lines. The lining of a picture can set the tone, and in this image, he has a lot of straight lines. What I noticed about the lining in this picture, is that they create depth. (The Visual Elements of Art).
The last image I am going to be analyzing is
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References
"The Principles of Design." J6 Design. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 June 2018.
"The Visual Elements." Chuck Close. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 June 2018.