Chris Jordan: Running the Numbers

This makes me think about the reading we were assigned in class by James Elkins, "Just Looking." One observation that he makes is that looking could also be perceived as a predatory act, as though we are hunting with our eyes. He takes the example of looking through a glass counter at a row of watches. While it may seem like an innocent act of browsing, we already have a image of exactly what we want in our minds and are in pursuit of perfection. This enables us to disregard the other hundreds of watches in the case and target that specific one we have our minds set on. This can also mean that we see only what we want to see; anything that doesn't match our perceived image is disregarded.

We live in a consumer society which has become conditioned to this consumer mentality; to hunt with our eyes. Unfortunately, this practice has so engulfed our lives that for many of us it has carried over into the way we view art. Art is no longer seen, but consumed like a product. We pay a fee to enter a museum with the clear objective to consume art. We stroll through the various galleries, using our eyes like a visual vacuum, sucking in as much as we can. As a consumer of art, the aesthetics of the work become unimportant and and is supplanted by the need to take in. When people go to the Louvre Museum to see the Mona Lisa, they are probably not there to appreciate its beauty. It is a small painting covered in thick plexiglass and unless you have the incredible opportunity to handle it palpably, you can probably find a superior quality image of it on an art database. In reality, most people go to see the Mona Lisa only to say that they have seen the Mona Lisa.

What you think you're seeing when you visit the Mona Lisa at the Louvre.

What you actually see when you visit the Mona Lisa in the Louvre.

Sometimes there are so many items to inspect that we don't give them the attention they deserve. The Jordan Schnitzer Art Museum is a very reasonably sized gallery right here on campus with a great collection of Asian art. Since I was also enrolled this quarter in a class on the history of Chinese art, I have found the eastern Asian art collection to be of special interest. However, the main exhibit currently on display merges art and consumerism in an appropriate blend of activism and aesthetics.




Light Bulbs, 2008 72x96"

Depicts 320,000 light bulbs, equal to the number of kilowatt hours of electricity wasted in the United States every minute from inefficient residential electricity usage (inefficient wiring, computers in sleep mode, etc.).

Chris Jordan's exhibit, Running the Numbers forces us take a closer look at the work, causing us to realize not only our relationship with art, but to products we consume as well. The statistics he presents are staggering, but are made all the more astonishing when they are accompanied by visual representations of that statistic. When I look at the work in his exhibit, I feel as though I am seeing both products and art simultaneously. Representing a number and using multiples to create an overall composition can have a powerful effect on the viewer.

Cans Seurat, 2007 60x92"
Depicts 106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the US every thirty seconds.

Each image immediately engages the viewer with its title. Each title is labeled with a description of what it depicts--a rational statistic that immediately demands of the viewer to engage in the piece not only aesthetically, but logically as well. This suggests not only its use but also provides a justification of its existence. The work demands a response from the viewer, implying that passively observing is not an option. Once the viewer's attention has been seized, their face is already drawn in close to the image simply by way of having to read the description of the image. This allows her to immediately address the details before working steadily away from the image to reveal an overall composition of a familiar image. The composition of the overall abstraction that is comprised of the familiar image of a consumer product creates a mental image that becomes embedded in the mind.

Barbie Dolls, 2008 60x80"
Depicts 32,000 Barbies, equal to the number of elective breast augmentation surgeries performed monthly in the US in 2006.

While perhaps being political or social in nature, these works are also aesthetically beautiful, thus creating tension for the viewer. A confusion created because we are normally use to seeing activism communicated in such a dry manner. However, Running the Numbers proves that both can exist simultaneously.