Written by Joelcy Kay

Editor & Curator – Edge of Humanity Magazine

Curator – NO MIDDLEMAN ART GALLERY

Artistically speaking Edward Burtynsky’s Quarries is about patterns. These geometric indentations after excavation create a new rock formation. Even though white, black, and rust, seem to occupy most of the frame. These are intense colors giving rise to creativity and inspiration.

As these gigantic rocks wait to become building materials with the next excavation, they are art pieces taking their last breath of life. Images on pages 41, 43, and 45 display just that. My favorite is page 55, depicting diagonal patterns and a green water base.

Pages 66 through 69 showcase unusual landscapes with deep colors. It is like looking at Rembrandt of rock formations or should I say deformations.

It is not until the eye of the viewer finds a human within these images that the understanding of the scale of these monumental and fast industrial landscapes kicks in.

While the underground landscapes resemble our thoughts of places on other planets, the site of a tall wooden ladder found in the mix of large scale excavation equipment is unnerving. At first, the equipment on the ground looks like play toys. But on page 47, which depicts 3 ladders reaching higher and higher levels on the face of a rock is that the thought of dangerous work conditions comes to mind. The closer images depicting working areas are confusing, overwhelming, and otherworldly.

Edward Burtynsky Quarries documents these enormous places around the world where earth gives us material to build the cities we live in. Quarries bring to life unexpected images, landscapes, and activities that we never think about it; it’s an eye opener to understanding the fundamentals of building, through revealing images that excites the mind.

For book specifics see amazon.com below:

Quarries

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Edge of Humanity Magazine

Edge of Humanity Magazine’s curator is now reviewing photo books.

Joelcy Kay (the curator of Edge of Humanity Magazine and the NO MIDDLEMAN ART GALLERY) has written many reviews and now she is available to write yours.

Here are some of Joelcy’s book recommendations:

Blood and Honey A Balkan War JournalBy Ron HavivPhotography Book Recommendation By Edge of Humanity Magazine

BrazilBy Ralph GibsonPhotography Book Recommendation By Edge of Humanity Magazine

Calcutta Bombay By Andreas HerzauPhotography Book Recommendation By Edge of Humanity Magazine

Photography Book Recommendations By Edge Of Humanity Magazine are published on the Edge of Humanity Magazine and at the NO MIDDLEMAN ART GALLERY Visual ART Blog. For more information on this service please email Joelcy at jo@edgeofhumanity.com .