Take a look at this image. It’s from Edward Burtynsky’s latest series, “Oil.” You may have heard of Burtynsky from his work on Chinese factories and the film, Manufactured Landscapes, which documents the process of making that work.
Looking at photos online, there’s a tendency to scroll past if it doesn’t grab you right away. I might have done the same with this image if it weren’t for some really insightful commentary on the Modern Art Notes blog. It’s a good read, and if you’re interested there are three other equally insightful pieces about Burtynsky on the blog.
indeed, online it is very easy, perhaps tempting (but really, why?), to scroll past images as they attempt to grab the viewer and then fail to take hold.
thanks for the link to the modern art notes. i read those as well as the new york times article which largely criticizes burtynsky’s “oil” series. both have their valid points. there is a lot happening in this image, but singularly it doesn’t have quite the impact it has when part of a series, particularly that series. perhaps when printed on a large scale it’s a different story. i’m most impressed by the human scale – how many people are present to watch the event (and how many more via television, presumably).