Sep 26, 2013
Vancouver, BC – Langara is pleased to welcome one of the world’s greatest living photographers, Edward Burtynsky, who will be speaking at the College as part of Langara’s Photography Masters Series and the first annual Capture Photography Festival.
The Canadian photographer is known around the globe for his expansive and poignant large-format images. His work is currently housed in more than 50 museums and galleries internationally, including the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. His visit to the College coincides with the release of his new book entitled Water, which is published by elite bookmaker Steidl. The project includes images from around the world that focus on our precarious relationship with the essential and fragile resource.
An image from "Water": Xiaolangdi Dam #1, Yellow River, Henan Province, China, 2011. © Edward Burtynsky
“While trying to accommodate the growing needs of an expanding, and very thirsty civilization, we are reshaping the Earth in colossal ways,” Burtynsky said in an artist’s statement. “In this new and powerful role over the planet, we are also capable of engineering our own demise. We have to learn to think more long-term about the consequences of what we are doing, while we are doing it. My hope is that these pictures will stimulate a process of thinking about something essential to our survival; something we often take for granted – until it’s gone.”
The book is accompanied by a documentary – Watermark – which opened at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier in September. The film will also be screened on October 10 at the Vancouver International Film Festival, before its generally release on October 11.
“We could not be more thrilled to have an artist of Mr. Burtynsky’s scope and talent share his work with us here at Langara,” said Jim Balderston, an instructor in the Langara Continuing Studies Photography Program and coordinator of the Masters Series, who actually began his own photographic career working as a printer in Burtynsky’s studio. “This is an incredible opportunity for our students and community to engage with a truly world-class imagemaker.”
Learn more:
Annie Mullins
Communications Officer
Langara Colleg
e604.323.5058
amullins@langara.bc.ca