Prompted by a friend’s recommendation and this James Fallows post over at the Atlantic, this afternoon I checked out the Corcoran Gallery’s latest stunning photography show, Edward Burtynsky: Oil.
This is one that will make you think.
Canadian photographer Burtynsky presents a series of mural-sized photos documenting the global culture of oil — its extraction, consumption and environmental impact– that are breathtaking in scope. Panoramic shots of clogged highways, suburban sprawl and motorcycle rallies–many taken in the Western United States– make their point without bludgeoning the viewer, showing oil consumption as an integral part of the American landscape.
But it’s not all commentary. Some of the junkyard photos, surveying mountains of used tires or compressed oil drums, are surprisingly artistic, and there’s one of Breezewood, Pennsylvania–that tangle of gas stations and fast food joints woefully familiar to any I-95 road tripper–that conveys an odd neon beauty.
Of course, the show is particularly timely given the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Climate treaty negotiators might do well to consider Burtynsky’s work; it’s a heckuva lot more engaging than an Al Gore powerpoint.
Edward Burtynsky:Oil runs through December 13, 2009.
As I wandered the Freer-Sackler Gallery’s 
