The X-Ray Sublime
Carolyn L. Kane
Chapter from the book: Kane, C. 2019. High-Tech Trash: Glitch, Noise, and Aesthetic Failure.
Part of
Chapter from the book: Kane, C. 2019. High-Tech Trash: Glitch, Noise, and Aesthetic Failure.
Chapter 6 focuses on a precariously inverted “toxic sublime” in the “offshore” practices of e-waste recycling and shipbreaking, followed by an analysis of the work of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. The decision to emphasize Burtynsky’s work (versus a number of other contemporary artists creating visual images of waste and ecological decline), is connected to the way he engages the tradition of the sublime in relation to harrowing environmental realities. What does it mean to deploy beautiful colors in the depiction of such tragic conditions? How does this connect back to our experience of waste and trash in the confines of daily life?
Kane, C. 2019. The X-Ray Sublime. In: Kane, C, High-Tech Trash. California: University of California Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.83.g
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Published on Dec. 17, 2019