Edward Burtynsky
1955–
Introduction
Edward Burtynsky (born February 22, 1955) is a Canadian photographer and artist known for his large format photographs of industrial landscapes. His works depict locations from around the world that represent the increasing development of industrialization and its impacts on nature and the human existence. It is most often connected to the philosophical concept of the sublime, a trait established by the grand scale of the work he creates, though they are equally disturbing in the way they reveal the context of rapid industrialization.
Burtynsky is the inaugural winner of the TED Prize for Innovation and Global Thinking in 2005. In 2016 he was the receiver of the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts for his collection of works thus far.
Burtynsky is an advocate for environmental conservationism and his work is deeply entwined in his advocacy. His work comments on the scars left by industrial capitalism while establishing an aesthetic for environmental devastation, the sublime-horrors discussed in a number of essays on the topic of his work. He sits on the board of Contact, Toronto's international festival of photography.
Wikidata identifier
Q967163
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Accessed May 2, 2024.
Introduction
Burtynsky trained in photography at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto in the 1970s. In 1981 Burtynsky photographed coal mines in Frackville, Pennsylvania, United States. In 1983 Burtynsky photographed in Georgian Bay, Ontario. He also photographed homesteads in British Columbia, Canada and Montana, United States. In the early 1980s, Burtynsky photographed mines in Utah and Montana, United States, and in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. In 1985 Burtynsky established Toronto Image Works, a darkroom rental facility, custom lab and photography gallery. In the same year he photographed rail cuts in British Columbia. Canadian landscape photographer. Canadian photographer, Toronto.
Country of birth
Canada
Roles
Artist, photographer
ULAN identifier
500037033
Names
Edward Burtynsky
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed May 2, 2024.
