Edward Burtynsky, Nickel Tailings No. 34, Sudbury, Ontario 1996
I have been a fan of Edward Burtynsky's photographs since I first saw them in 2002 at the Charles Cowles Gallery. I am drawn to 'the beauty and the beast' quality of these works - stunningly gorgeous images of stunningly horrific human endeavors and effects like mining, waste, and pollution.
Now these images are being put to good use. Last year he was selected as one of the first recipients of the TED Prize, an annual prize awarded to an individual who has shown that they can, in some way, positively impact life on this planet. (Bono was a fellow TED Prize recipient.) Each recipient is granted "a wish to change the world." They may wish for anything and the TED community will do its best to make that wish come true.
Ed Burtynsky's wish was that his "artwork could persuade millions of people to join a global conversation about sustainability." Rather than reinventing the wheel, Ed and TED have teamed up with WorldChanging, an existing non-profit organization dedicated to showing us a "bright green future, a sustainable, prosperous, dynamic future for all." Ed Burtynsky's images have been edited into a short video that will be disseminated (TV, web, screen, here, etc.) to help spread the word about WorldChanging and allow people to learn about and get involved in the issues raised by each of Ed's photographs. Check it out.
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