Ed and I (Burtynsky that is)
I am a Canadian. I was born in a city close to the US border and north of Niagara Falls called St. Catharines. Yes, the spelling here is correct. It is wrong everywhere else usually.
I was in Boston last year at the wonderful Institute of Contemporary Art.For some reason we wandered around the back of the building and there were a couple of photographs on the back wall obviously by Edward Burtynsky. He had taken them during the construction of the building. I would think they were copies of course! In fact, I hope I have this all straight in memory.
Well, there was also a small blurb on Burtynsky with the photos and I am still speechless to think I found out standing on that spot that Edward was born in… St. Catharines, Ontario too! Big deal, I know. But it IS a big deal. Who the heck is ever born in St. Catharines, Ontario? Plus, Ed (I can do this) went to Ryerson and Niagara College and most interesting to me is that the GM plant, where his father was employed,in St. Kitts (I can do this too) was an early inspiration to his work which “explores the intricate link between industry and nature…” That huge GM plant was the largest employer in the area – it is now shuttered, or close to it, I think. He was born in 1955 and I was born in 1954. To think we probably passed each other in the street somewhere in the next couple of decades or went to the same school is interesting to me, not because of his impending fame, but because it was St. Catharines that birthed this brilliance! Of all the mundane and not very interesting places, this was Mr. Burtynsky’s beginnings? He’s now based in Toronto – definitely a good move.
On October 6, the Bangor Daily News featured an article about Mr. Burtynksy’s exhibit currently at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. The exhibit is titled “Edward Burtynsky: Oil”. Mr. Burtynsky spent twelve years exploring the subject of oil, the article says, and it quotes the artist as follows: “It’s like trying to photograph something that you never see. We don’t see crude oil. It’s like blood in our veins. It runs through our body, but if we see it, there’s a problem usually.”
The 55 photographs range from Bangladesh (those oh-so-intriguing photographs of workers breaking down oil tankers for salvage) to Alberta. The exhibit is traveling through 2012. But I imagine Washington DC is the closest it’s going to get to Maine, so if you can, take a trip to the Capital before December 13.
OIL FIELDS #22, COLD LAKE PRODUCTION PROJECT, COLD LAKE, ALBERTA, CANADA 2001. PHOTOGRAPH © EDWARD BURTYNSKY, COURTESY OF NICHOLAS METIVIER GALLERY, TORONTO/ADAMSON GALLERY, WASHINGTON, D.C.
