Description
1. First Document
Worksheet
Nature, Knowledge and Technology
Purpose: Explore the dichotomy between nature and technology through two photographer’s lenses.
Context: Photographs by Seattle based artist Chris Jordan create complex images using text, technological devices and natural objects as subject matter. New Orleans based photographer Tina Freeman’s images visually connect threatened environments through juxtaposition and shared environmental issues.
Process:
Read the instructions carefully and completely. They ask for specific responses to particular photographic series. Please include images of the artworks you are responding to.
- View Chris Jordan’s digital images from the E Pluribus Unum, Intolerable Beauty, Midway and In Katrina’s Wake series for your worksheet discussions. Click on the Artworks tab at the top of the page to locate each series of works.
- Answer the questions below.
- View the paired photographs by Tina Freeman and the curatorial statement about her Lamentations exhibit. You can also access the link from the worksheet directions in Canvas.
- Answer the questions below:
- How does he interconnect nature and technology in the Midway series?
- What is a gyre? Why does he include Message from The Gyre in his Midway series?
- Can you draw any conclusions between the natural world and human’s use of technology after viewing the images?
- What message do you think is being sent from his In Katrina’s Wake: Portraits of Loss from an Unnatural Disaster series?
- Make a comment about the aesthetic nature of his work. Can you find a sense of beauty in his images of destruction and environmental degradation?
- Be specific in your answers. Include an image or two of his – or another image you find, to support your answers. Be sure to cite any new sources.
- Freeman bridges the huge physical distance between the locations in each pair of photographs by placing them right next to each other. How does this pairing of images from different parts of the globe help us to find meaning in her work?
- Describe any formal and compositional echoes you see between one set of paired images.
- Why do you think she titles her exhibition Lamentations?
- Include images of Freeman’s work to support your answers.
2. Second Document
Discussion: The New New Thing: Same As It Ever Was
Read David Gates' article here Link (Links to an external site.)
Post your response to these questions:
1. Do you agree with Gates' contention that "new" art forms and styles simply recast old ideas, topics and themes? Why or why not?
2. Is there room for original innovation in the arts, or, as Gates' puts it, "... is there any place left where a rebel can still jump the fence and start making trouble? What fence? What trouble? " Give an example.
3. How much are you influenced by arts culture in our world?
In what form (music, performance, visual art and communication, literature, or digital art forms)?
Reply to at least two other students' posts.
Explanation & Answer
Attached.
The New Thing: Same As It Ever Was
The New Thing: Same As It Ever Was
Name of the student
Institute
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The New Thing: Same As It Ever Was
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1.. How does he interconnect nature and technology in the Midway series?
Through his famous photographs of dead albatross birds and the plastic waste they have gobbled,
thinking of it as food, Chris Jordon shows the unfortunate interconnection of nature and
technology.
Midway: Message from the Gyre (2009 - Current)
2. What is a gyre? Why does he include Message from The Gyre in his Midway series?
The New Thing: Same As It Ever Was
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Zyre, which is also called The North Pacific Zyre, is the largest Eco-System located in the North
Pacific Ocean. The reason Chris includes Zyre in his Midway series is that there is a threat of
plastic rubbish drifting in the North Pacific Gyre to Midway, which is a huge risk and threat to
the life of Albatross birds and other animals.
3. Can you draw any conclusions between the natural world and human’s use of technology
after viewing the images?
The pictures of dead Albatross with plastic waste in their bellies generate a deep sense of pain
and agony. It reflects the emotional emptiness of human beings towards other forms of life.
While using technology human beings do not seem to be concerned about the danger it can cause
to animals and finally to themselves.
4. What message do you think is being sent from his In Katrina’s Wake: Portraits of Loss
from an Unnatural Disaster series?
In Katrina’s Wake: Portraits of Loss from an Unnatural Disaster series, Chris Jordan, leaves a message to
influence people about the policies that are aligned with their environmental and social concerns.
5. Make a comment about the aesthetic nature of his work. Can you find a sense of beauty
in his images of destruction and environmental degradation?
The methods applied by Chris Jordon to interact with people and showcase their concerns have
been muti-characteristic. Chris focuses on the artifacts of the harm, skillfully framing the forlorn
objects and creating touching photographs. Indirectly people can sense the sorrowful presence of
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impacted people. These photos show the permanent alteration to their lives by the storm
In Katrina's Wake: Portraits of Loss from an Unnatural Disaster (2005)
Freeman bridges the huge physical distance between the locations in each pair of photographs by
placing them right next to each other. How does this pairing of images from different parts of the
globe help us to find meaning in her work?
Tina Freeman has a unique style of photography where she places two similar pictures from
different parts of the world. We can find a very significant meaning of similarity in her work. It
reflects that though there are so many differences in different parts of the world, people, and
natural destinations, there is always some similarity in all places in more or fewer ways.
In every pair of photos by Tina Freeman, We can see formal and compositional echoes. In the
photo above, one looks like a dormant location without any activity and other photos which do
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look similar but give a sense of elegance and activity. At the same time, these locations exhibit a
formal setup that can be found easily.
“Lamentations.”( Tina Freeman)
Describe any formal and compositional echoes you see between one set of paired images.
“Lamentations....
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