Rock Of Ages

Edward Burtynsky's Rock of Ages #22

Edward Burtynsky's Rock of Ages #22 is part of a larger series of the Vermont quarry. Displayed at the Nevada Museum of Art, Rock of Ages #22 is an excellent example of a well thought out and photographed work of art.

One of Canada's most respected photographers, Edward Burtynsky is truly remarkable for his photographic depictions of industrial landscapes. Born in 1955 in Ontario, Burtynsky credits most of his photographic interest to the General Motors Plant of his childhood hometown. His photographs explore the link between humans and their dependency on nature and to the raw materials that we consume with little or no regard to where we obtained the resource. Burtynsky claims that we (humans) set up a contradictory balance of survival between man and nature and "are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success". The industries depicted in his photographic art also represent a beauty of humanity and nature in some of the most unlikely of places.

Viewing Burtynsky's artwork left me in a bit of aw. The multitude of colors and intense detail in one location was in short mysterious. Knowing the location to be a quarry, I found it very hard to not associate it with some undiscovered and lost land. Strangely abandoned, there is an eerie presence with forms of technology but yet somewhat primitive to our own. The lines in the granite walls send the eyes wondering in various directions which only intensify the feeling of being somewhere you don't know anything about. Ladders, ropes and pulleys are scattered throughout and give the sense that someone is near, yet no one is visibly around. As I stay gazing into the unknown I also find a beauty in this land which compliments and balances the feeling of being alone.

After reading the depiction of what the artist was attempting to accomplish