It appears to me that I'm somehow coming back to Edward Burtynsky from time to time (see my posting about Daniel Corbeil). Why today? Because I just visited the exhibition "Aerial Abstractions" with photographs by Louis Helbig; and the resemblance is obvious.
From left to right: "Algae Bloom High Falls, QC", "Stelcosteel Mill One, Nanticoke, ON","Sunderland Pit Gravels Piles One Sunderland, ON".
Burtynsky and Helbig depict both the appearance of a landscape from a perspective above it; and furthermore both deal with environmental issues. Helbig's best known project is “Beautiful Destruction – Alberta Tar Sands Aerial Photographs” and this motive was also of course a main focus for Burtynsky. (Unfortunately, this series by Helbig is not on view in the exhibition - it focuses on photos in the Ottawa area.) Furthermore, aerial views by both artists reveal abstract structures of our landscapes and the effect of industrialization.
Left: "Long Hay Bale Shawville, QC"; right: Shawville Thaw Shawville, QC"
As Helbig says: “Although aerial perspectives afford great sweeping views, they also afford the opposite. Removing context provokes wonder, thought and reflection.” Helbigs landscape color photographs from a high point of view indeed surprise the beholder with abstract structures that were unrecognizable for us standing on the ground. Helbig's photographs oscillate between documentary and abstract, like in works by the German photographer Andreas Gursky. His famous works - e.g. "Rimini", 2003 that shows a Mediterranean beach with endless rows of beach chairs - follow a more formal structure with color composition and contrasts. Up close, a microcosm of details is visible.
Gursky uses digital manipulation to create his strictly composed aerial views. Gursky's huge, panoramic color prints have a formal power that Helbig misses. Gursky’s and Burtynsky's styles are enigmatic. Helbig concentrates in this exhibition rather on decorative landscapes that show not only destruction but also beauty.
"Snow Geese in Field One Casselman, ON"
Facts:
Aerial Abstractions
An Exhibition of photographs by Louis Helbig
January 20th till March 15th, 2011
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