AMoA

There was a section that resonated with me was his section on flying.  Being that we had two flights alone just to get to Austin, when I came across his work Jet Trails, 2007 It was hard to think of our return back to Los Angeles.  Below is the depiction of 11,000 jet trails which depicts the number of commercial jet flights in the United States every EIGHT hours.

Or this one that hit me really hard, it Depicts one million plastic cups, the number used just on airline flights in the U.S. every SIX hours.  So really this picture is just a quarter of the days consumption.

Detail below where you can see the lip of the lid as they stack around like snakes:

This made my return trip back from Austin quite uneasy for me.  I was contemplating the whole time how many cups I watched go back and forth across the cabin and how there is no recycling on the plane.  I was strategizingand scheming how one could convince these struggling airliners that they need to make a change on their beverage persession and and how the change can be inspired as well as received by their customers.  This of course was not solved during the flight (I'll have to keep you posted on this well needed change) but I did however manage to think about what I could do in that moment.  

The beauty of Chris Jordan's work is that it makes you understand your harmful habits and how they contribute to the whole, but when in a situation where you feel like the lone man out... it's hard to feel like you alone in your decision helps the issues at hand.  When I told the stewardess that I did not want a beverage that required her to give it to me in a plastic cup she responded, 

"Like a Styrofoam one instead"

which of course in my head I was thinking heck no!!! That is WAYYYYYY worse!  Then I got a confused look when I told her "I am off plastic." 

This lead me to the easier solution, save the cup and reuse it on the following flights.  I was just having water so this made better sense than the whole production- BUT it still was a production.  Multiple stewardesses tried to take my cup from me, or couldn't understand why I was clutching it to my chest cross country.  What I can't understand is what my option is for future travel plans... Or maybe I will just have to put this cup in the cupboard and embarrass Kevin even more when I tote this plastic cup with me each time we go on a trip.

Chris Jordan- Portraits of American Mass Consumption

More on Chris Jordan's Exhibit at the AMoA

Below is the exhibition card which highlights his piece Lightbulbs, 2008.  It depicts 380,000 lightbulbs which equals the number of kilowatt hours of electricity is wasted every minute in the US by inefficient residential energy use.  Can you imagine what the depiction would look like if it included all inefficient energy loss?

I like his idea of creating Portraits of American Mass Consumption.  In most of his works he lets the sheer volume speak for its self, but in his piece Cans Seurat, 2007 I think the clever usage of a pointillism classic is the perfect avenue for his masterpieces.

 Hard to believe that each point on this Seurat homage can be so many varieties of our favorite soda cans.

With how amazing the Seurat piece is, it is hard to believe that there would be anything else synonymous with Chris Jordan.  That is until you see his most referenced photograph of Plastic Bottles, 2007.

 

It reads:

Depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the United States every five minutes

The scary part is Plastic Bottles was created in 2007.  Who knows what the image would look like if it statistically pictured today's usage.  Maybe no scarier than looking at a close up of his work:

Even though these materials can theoretically be recycled, that is not what I left the exhibit thinking about.  I do my part in recycling but I feel like personally that is not enough.  Once the plastic hits my recycling bin I do not think twice about the waste anymore.  That is the thought process I would like to change within myself is the dialogue when I make choices to purchase things with added packaging and the decision on purchasing things when I happen to be away from home.  When you are out and about and you have an item that is recyclable but no receptacle... how often will you just throw these items away?  These are the questions I ask myself while emerging myself in his work and the questions will resonate in me to hopefully change myself for the future.

Chris Jordan: Running the Numbers

Chris Jordan: Running the Numbers

Austin Museum of Art
May 22- August 15th 2010

 One thing I really liked about the AMoA is their use of Cell Phone Audio Guide.  I listend along with the piece while I was there, but I am sure you could even call and check out the prompts above.  I hate when a museum has a big exhibit and you have to pay for both admission to the exhibit as well as buying the audio tour.  This system was really helpful and who doesn't readily have a cell with them to utilize the great info?!?!

I won't be doing a play-by-play of the whole exhibit.  You should go and see it in person, or purchase the wonderful book that highlights all of his works featured in this show.  There are a ton of pieces that range from SUV sales to boob-jobs... it's out there if your interested.

Also, he is speaking on June 3rd at the George Washington Carver Museum details below:

One CRAZY thing I saw was that Working Class Studio from my Alma mater Savannah College of Art and Design feature several products from their line in the gift shop pictured below!

Chris Jordan and the Plastic Invasion

So one of the best parts of our Austin Trip was getting to see the exhibit Chris Jordan: Running the Numbers at the Austin Museum of Art.

I bought the book pictured bellow, and look forward to writing a couple of postings to illustrate as best as possibly why I LOVE Chris Jordan's photos!

The picture above Plastic Bottles, 2007.  When studied super close is a sea of plastic bottles of all varieties.  It is a wonderful way to illustrate the choices and outcomes at hand. All of our choices add up together when it comes to the situation at hand, and I myself admit to have a weakness for buying drinks in plastic bottles when away from home.  I am anxious to figure out a way to empower the decision to resist plastic and disposable ways that our culture sees as essential. 

One great source for information and inspiration to cut yourself free from plastic is the Plastic Pollution Coalition.  My friend went to a great lecture and turned me on to their organization.  I love keeping up with them on Facebook, they post often and with a lot of great info!  Their mission is simple: 

"The Plastic Pollution Coalition was created with the vision of a world free of plastic pollution and of the toxic impacts of plastic on humans, the environment, wildlife and marine life."

big ideas FOR A SMALL PLANET- Chris Jordan

 I have been spending some time watching

BIG IDEAS FOR A SMALL PLANET and each episode is so informational and enjoyable that I strongly recommend taking a second to watch some.  Each episode is only 25 min. so when I am having lunch it has been my go-to break.  The picture above is Season 1, and I am watching Season 3 at the moment... Season 3 is On-line as well as in Netflix Play Instant where I have been watching it.  You have to queue the disks for Season 1 or purchase it to see it, so I will have to report later how that goes...

I am sure I will be talking about how many great things this program has inspired me to think about and incorporate in my projects- Today my recent love to explore is Chris Jordan a Photographer who creates GIANT photo collages to diagram waste. 

 The best part is he creates his work to whatever scale replicates the vast amount of the issue depicted.  Sometimes seeing the problem head is the best wake-up call for anyone and Chris is able to illustrate the problem and make it accessible for the audience.

 I would kill to get this book but alas, Running the Numbers: An American Self-portrait is out of my budget, but I am going to keep checking him out and it states in his Exhibits that his Austin Museum of Art Show in Austin TX is at the same time we will be in Austin!!!! Yippee

Info-"Chris Jordan: Running the Numbers" (May 22 - Aug. 15) (traveling exhibition)

AMOA (Austin Museum of Art) details of Chris Jordan: Running the Numbers