Chris Jordan at Yossi Milo Gallery in NYC

[Martin Miller]

Hey Folks,

I attended Chris Jordan at his show-opening reception last Thursday night. If you are in the area over the next month stop in and see his work. I had not seen any of his work in person for a couple of years - big difference from seeing them on his website. They are STUNNING!! Go see the fruits of your answers to his forum questions over the years.

[Paddy Quinn]

Some interesting online reviews:

http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/archives/001788.html#001788

http://www.galleryhopper.org/archives/2005_09.html#001277

http://zekesgallery.blogspot.com/2005/07/holding-the-times-to-same-standards.html

[QT Luong]

Chris, can you comment on the relationship between Burtynsky and your work, and what you are doing that
Burtynsky didn't ?

[Kirk Gittings]

Great question QT.

[Struan Gray]

Haydn sounds a lot like Mozart at times.

I'm sure Chris can comment for himself, but I can't resist throwing my oar into the waters. I prefer Chris Jordan's photos over Edward Burtynsky's. I don't claim that I could identify either photographer in an unlabelled showing of a single print, but from my (admittedly online) viewing of their work I get a much stronger feeling of deliberately created art from Jordan.

Burtynsky is National Geographic writ big. Lovely images, but few if any surprises in terms of composition or even choice of specific subject. There's a deliberate avoidance of editorial judgement.

Jordan has a much stronger sense of composition and a considerably more subtle use of colour. That stack of containers photographed edge-on reminds me of Klee's watercolours and Penn's frozen foods. I get a sense of deliberately constructed art that goes beyond a merely sophisticated presentation of a subject. That feeling was there in the early night shots of Seattle Chris used to have on his website before he became famous, and it permeates his work.

[Oren Grad]

I think the shipping container snapshots on the "Zeke's Gallery" page capture Struan's point nicely.

Whether being deliberately constructed makes it better is a separate question. But taken as a body of work, Chris Jordan's stuff certainly looks different to me.

[Kirk Gittings]

I agree with the above comments, I prefer Chis' images also, but I would be hardpressed to explain the difference especially since I have never had the opportunity to see them as originals. For me Chris' work seems ultimately more resolved as artistic expression.

[Pascal Quint]

I would classify Burtynsky with Polidori. They are neither fish nor fowl. What they do does not quite seem to be architectural/industrial, it is not quite reportage, it is not quite art. It appears to hover somewhere between all three – unsatisfactorily so it seems to my eye, for both of them.

When I was travelling from Lyon to Montreal regularly a few years ago Burtynsky was all the rage and seemed the darling of the art intelligentsia. I went to his big exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa – it was impressive, but I came away feeling empty. The book was full of learned essays by experts and curators attempting to place Burtynsky’s work in a continuum going back to Watkins and others. But it seemed like the words did not match the photographs.

It is very beautiful work, meticulously photographed and printed. Some pieces are initially very stunning. But they seem to lack a soul, a fire, a passion. I think this is in Jordan’s work.

Burtynsky has done very well and worked very hard (for some he semed to burst on the scene fully fledged, but he had been using his successful Lab to fund his work for 20 years or more). But he had nurtured his contacts, he has worked well the publicity magazine; he receives $50,000 world prizes and his prints sell to Banks for $35-60,000 or more, he travels with the Governor General on world culture tours. But I think his work lacks the artistic rigour of Gursky or Struth or Esser. And it seems empty if put beside other Canadian photographers color work such Wall or Cohen or Harraldson.

I see Jordan’s work, which is surely still young, no? as being more personal, more passionate, having more intent.

Yes, it is really National Geographique photographed carefully with 8x10 and 4x5 with a concept of “concern for our changing world” grafted on later – the concept has been conjoured up to match the work.

[Pascal Quint]

Yes, it is really National Geographique photographed carefully with 8x10 and 4x5 with a concept of “concern for our changing world” grafted on later – the concept has been conjoured up to match the work.

Not Jordan, Burtynsky for the above

[QT Luong]

In the video that was at the exhibit, Burtynsky characterized himself as a "straight shooter" (his words).