Photographer Edward Burtynsky Shares Inspirations with Students
Edward’s large-scale photos focus on the impact human industry has on the surrounding landscape. His works are included in the collections of over 60 major museums around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Guggenheim and Madrid’s Reina Sofia Museum. He has also recently made a foray into film, collaborating with fellow Greenwood parent Jennifer Baichwal on the feature documentary Watermark.
Edward took students through several of his projects, each a photo series with a particular theme - including water, oil and manufactured landscapes. His work has taken him everywhere from Sudbury, where he photographed a nickel tailings pond featuring water with an unearthly red hue, to China, where he captured the construction of the Three Gorges Dam Project. He explained to students how he got each of the shots he showed (many of his aerial shots use a helicopter), and what inspired him to photograph that particular landscape.
For instance, why a series on oil? “Oil has such a large role in our everyday lives, from the food we eat, to the cars we drive, to the plastic in the chair you’re sitting on,” Edward says. “I hadn’t seen anyone really go look at how oil impacts the landscape, and I wanted to bring that forward.”
Edward also provided an interesting take on why, in a digital age, books - particularly, books of art - continue to be important. “People digest content differently online than they do in print,” he says. “Books give a context to the photos that you often lose in a digital format. Media comes and goes, but books stay behind.”
As much as students learned from Edward’s visit, it was also inspiring for them to see his success as a working artist. His story reinforces the message that a passion for the arts can lead to a career. In particular, Edward encouraged students to explore their current time in history and interests in current events in order to determine motivation and a path for their visual work.
Our sincere thanks to Edward for taking the time to visit us!
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Greenwood College School
443 Mount Pleasant Road
Toronto, ON M4S 2L8
Tel: 416 482 9811
Toronto, ON M4S 2L8
Tel: 416 482 9811
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