TED2008
Chris Jordan: Turning powerful stats into art
Chris Jordan oslikava šokantnu statistiku
Filmed:
Readability: 3.6
1,915,736 views
Umjetnik Chris Jordan naprosto hipnotizira svojim prikazom zapadne civilizacije. On izrađuje ogromne slike i fotografije kako bi nam pomogao da shvatimo značenje statističkih podataka - kao primjerice nevjerojatan broj papirnatih čaša koje upotrebljavamo svakodnevno.
Chris Jordan - Artist
Chris Jordan runs the numbers on modern American life -- making large-format, long-zoom artwork from the most mindblowing data about our stuff. Full bio
Chris Jordan runs the numbers on modern American life -- making large-format, long-zoom artwork from the most mindblowing data about our stuff. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
My work is about the behaviors that we all engage in unconsciously,
0
0
5000
Moji radovi vezani su uz naše ponašanje, kojeg nismo svjesni
00:17
on a collective level.
1
5000
2000
na razini kolektviteta.
00:19
And what I mean by that, it's the behaviors
2
7000
2000
Ono što pod time podrazumijevam je ponašanje
00:21
that we're in denial about,
3
9000
1000
koje poričemo
00:22
and the ones that operate below the surface of our daily awareness.
4
10000
6000
i koje je ispod naše percepcije stvarnosti.
00:29
And as individuals, we all do these things, all the time, everyday.
5
17000
3000
Kao pojedinci sudjelujemo u tome cijelo vrijeme, svakodnevno.
00:32
It's like when you're mean to your wife
6
20000
2000
To je slično kao kad se obrecnete na suprugu
00:35
because you're mad at somebody else.
7
23000
1000
jer ste ljuti ne nekog drugog.
00:37
Or when you drink a little too much at a party, just out of anxiety.
8
25000
3000
Ili kad popijete previše na zabavi zbog nelagode koju osjećate
00:40
Or when you overeat because your feelings are hurt, or whatever.
9
28000
5000
Ili kad se prejedete jer je netko povrijedio vaše osjećaje itd.
00:46
And when we do these kind of things,
10
34000
2000
Kad nesvjesno nešto radimo i uz nas još
00:48
when 300 million people do unconscious behaviors,
11
36000
4000
300 milijuna drugih ljudi isto nesvjesno to radi,
00:52
then it can add up to a catastrophic consequence
12
40000
3000
to može dovesti do katastrofalnih posljedica
00:55
that nobody wants, and no one intended.
13
43000
2000
koje nitko nije htio i nije imao namjeru izazvati.
00:57
And that's what I look at with my photographic work.
14
45000
3000
I na to ja skrećem pažnju u svojim radovima.
01:00
This is an image I just recently completed, that is --
15
48000
4000
Ovdje je slika koju sam tek nedavno završio i radi se,
01:04
when you stand back at a distance,
16
52000
1000
ukoliko gledate s nešto veće udaljenosti
01:05
it looks like some kind of neo-Gothic, cartoon image
17
53000
3000
o prividu neo-gotičkog crteža
01:08
of a factory spewing out pollution.
18
56000
3000
tvornice koja zagađuje okoliš.
01:11
And as you get a little bit closer,
19
59000
2000
Ako priđete bliže
01:14
it starts looking like lots of pipes, like maybe a chemical plant,
20
62000
4000
počinje ličiti na veliki broj cijevi, slično kao u kemijskom postrojenju
01:18
or a refinery, or maybe a hellish freeway interchange.
21
66000
3000
ili rafineriji - ili možda, pakleno isprepletena petlja autoceste.
01:22
And as you get all the way up close,
22
70000
1000
I kako se približavate sve bliže
01:23
you realize that it's actually made of lots and lots of plastic cups.
23
71000
4000
Počinjete shvaćati da se radi o velikom broju plastičnih čaša.
01:28
And in fact, this is one million plastic cups,
24
76000
2000
U stvari, radi se o točno milijun plastičnih čaša
01:30
which is the number of plastic cups that are used on airline flights
25
78000
4000
što odgovara broju plastičnih čaša koje se upotrijebe na avionskim letovima
01:35
in the United States every six hours.
26
83000
1000
u Sjedinjenim državama svakih šest sati
01:36
We use four million cups a day on airline flights,
27
84000
4000
Mi iskoristimo četiri milijuna čaša dnevno na avionskim letovima,
01:41
and virtually none of them are reused or recycled.
28
89000
2000
i skoro ništa se od toga ne upotrebljava ponovo niti reciklira;
01:43
They just don't do that in that industry.
29
91000
2000
Aviokompanije to naprosto ne rade.
01:46
Now, that number is dwarfed
30
94000
2000
Ali taj broj je malen
01:48
by the number of paper cups we use every day,
31
96000
2000
usporedi li se s brojem papirnatih čaša koje iskoristimo svakodnevno,
01:51
and that is 40 million cups a day for hot beverages,
32
99000
3000
To je 40 milijuna čaša dnevno za tople napitke,
01:54
most of which is coffee.
33
102000
1000
najčešće za kavu.
01:55
I couldn't fit 40 million cups on a canvas,
34
103000
3000
Nisam uspio staviti 40 milijuna čaša na platno
01:58
but I was able to put 410,000. That's what 410,000 cups looks like.
35
106000
4000
ali sam uspio staviti 410 tisuća. Ovako izgleda 410 tisuća čaša.
02:03
That's 15 minutes of our cup consumption.
36
111000
1000
Toliko potrošimo za 15 minuta.
02:04
And if you could actually stack up that many cups in real life,
37
112000
4000
I ako bi to sakupili na hrpu
02:08
that's the size it would be.
38
116000
1000
To bi izgledalo ovako.
02:09
And there's an hour's worth of our cups.
39
117000
2000
A ovo je količina koju potrošimo za sat vremena
02:12
And there's a day's worth of our cups.
40
120000
1000
I ovo je količina koju potrošimo za jedan dan
02:13
You can still see the little people way down there.
41
121000
2000
Još uvijek se naziru ljudi tamo dolje.
02:15
That's as high as a 42-story building,
42
123000
2000
Ovo je veliko kao zgrada s 42 kata
02:17
and I put the Statue of Liberty in there as a scale reference.
43
125000
4000
I za usporedbu - Kip slobode da imate osjećaj veličine.
02:23
Speaking of justice, there's another phenomenon going on in our culture
44
131000
3000
Ako pričamo o pravosuđu, zanimljiva je jedna druga pojava u našem društvu
02:26
that I find deeply troubling, and that is that America, right now,
45
134000
3000
koja me duboko uznemiruje, a to je da SAD ovom trenutku
02:29
has the largest percentage of its population in prison
46
137000
3000
ima najveći postotak svoje populacije u zatvoru
02:32
of any country on Earth.
47
140000
2000
u usporedbi s bilo kojom državom na Svijetu
02:35
One out of four people, one out of four humans in prison
48
143000
3000
Svaka četvrta osoba, pazite, jedna od četiri osobe u zatvoru
02:38
are Americans, imprisoned in our country.
49
146000
4000
je Amerikanac zatočen u našoj državi.
02:43
And I wanted to show the number.
50
151000
1000
I htio sam pokazati taj broj.
02:44
The number is 2.3 million Americans were incarcerated in 2005.
51
152000
4000
Taj broj je 2.3 milijuna Amerikanaca zatočenih u 2005.
02:48
And that's gone up since then, but we don't have the numbers yet.
52
156000
2000
I broj se povećao od tada, ali još nemamo točne podatke.
02:50
So, I wanted to show 2.3 million prison uniforms,
53
158000
3000
Stoga sam htio prikazati 2.3 milijuna zatvoreničkih odora,
02:54
and in the actual print of this piece,
54
162000
3000
i pogledate li ovu fotografiju,
02:57
each uniform is the size of a nickel on its edge.
55
165000
3000
svaka odora je veličine novčića (5 centi) gledanog s boka.
03:00
They're tiny. They're barely visible as a piece of material,
56
168000
3000
Sitni su, jedva raspoznajete da se radi o komadu nečega
03:03
and to show 2.3 million of them required a canvas
57
171000
3000
i da bi prikazao 2.3 milijuna njih bio bi mi potreban
03:07
that was larger than any printer in the world would print.
58
175000
2000
štampač kakvog nema na svijetu.
03:09
And so I had to divide it up into multiple panels
59
177000
2000
Stoga sam morao to podijeliti na više panoa
03:11
that are 10 feet tall by 25 feet wide.
60
179000
2000
koji su zajedno preko 3 metra visoki i preko 7,60 metara široki.
03:13
This is that piece installed in a gallery in New York --
61
181000
4000
Ovdje je prikazana ta instalacija u galeriji u New York-u;
03:18
those are my parents looking at the piece.
62
186000
2000
Ovo su moji roditelji kako je promatraju.
03:20
(Laughter)
63
188000
2000
(smijeh)
03:23
Every time I look at this piece,
64
191000
1000
Svaki put kad pogledam tu sliku,
03:24
I always wonder if my mom's whispering to my dad,
65
192000
2000
pitam se da li moja mama šapće tati,
03:26
"He finally folded his laundry."
66
194000
2000
"Konačno je složio svoju odjeću."
03:28
(Laughter)
67
196000
1000
(smijeh)
03:31
I want to show you some pieces now that are about addiction.
68
199000
2000
Želio bih Vam sada pokazati nekoliko djela s temom ovisnosti.
03:33
And this particular one is about cigarette addiction.
69
201000
4000
I konkretno ova je o ovisnosti o cigaretama.
03:37
I wanted to make a piece that shows the actual number of Americans
70
205000
3000
Htio sam pokazati koliki je stvarni broj Amerikanaca
03:40
who die from cigarette smoking.
71
208000
2000
koji umiru od pušenja cigareta.
03:42
More than 400,000 people die in the United States every year
72
210000
3000
Preko 400 tisuća ljudi umire svake godine u SAD
03:45
from smoking cigarettes.
73
213000
2000
zbog pušenja cigareta.
03:47
And so, this piece is made up of lots and lots of boxes of cigarettes.
74
215000
4000
Ovo je djelo sačinjeno od mnogo kutija cigareta.
03:51
And, as you slowly step back,
75
219000
1000
I ako se polako udaljimo,
03:52
you see that it's a painting by Van Gogh, called "Skull with Cigarette."
76
220000
4000
vidjet ćete sliku koju je nacrtao Van Gogh, "Lubanja s cigaretom."
03:56
It's a strange thing to think about, that on 9/11,
77
224000
4000
Čudno je to kad pomislite da je 11. rujna (napad na WTC),
04:00
when that tragedy happened, 3,000 Americans died.
78
228000
2000
kada se dogodila tragedja, 3000 Amerikanaca je poginulo,
04:02
And do you remember the response?
79
230000
2000
I sjećate li se kakav je odjek to imalo?
04:05
It reverberated around the world,
80
233000
2000
O tome je pričao cijeli svijet,
04:07
and will continue to reverberate through time.
81
235000
3000
i nastavit će o tome pričati.
04:10
It will be something that we talk about in 100 years.
82
238000
3000
Biti će to nešto o čemu ćemu će se pričati i za 100 godina.
04:13
And yet on that same day, 1,100 Americans died from smoking.
83
241000
5000
A ipak, tog istog dana - 1100 Amerikanaca je umrlo od pušenja.
04:18
And the day after that, another 1,100 Americans died from smoking.
84
246000
3000
I dan nakon toga, dodatnih 1100 Amerikanaca je umrlo od pušenja.
04:21
And every single day since then, 1,100 Americans have died.
85
249000
3000
I svaki dan od onda, 1100 Amerikanaca je umrlo,
04:25
And today, 1,100 Americans are dying from cigarette smoking.
86
253000
2000
i danas, 1100 Amerikanaca je umrlo od pušenja cigareta.
04:27
And we aren't talking about it -- we dismiss it.
87
255000
4000
Ali o tome ne pričamo; potiskujemo to.
04:32
The tobacco lobby, it's too strong.
88
260000
2000
Duhanski lobi naprosto je prejak.
04:34
We just dismiss it out of our consciousness.
89
262000
2000
Mi tu činjenicu jednostavno izbacimo iz svijesti.
04:38
And knowing what we know about the destructive power of cigarettes,
90
266000
6000
Iako znamo što znamo o pogubnom učinku cigareta,
04:44
we continue to allow our children, our sons and daughters,
91
272000
4000
ipak dozvoljavamo da na naša djeca, naši sinovi i kćeri,
04:48
to be in the presence of the influences that start them smoking.
92
276000
3000
budu izloženi utjecajima zbog kojih i oni počinju pušiti.
04:51
And this is what the next piece is about.
93
279000
2000
I o tome govori sljedeće djelo.
04:54
This is just lots and lots of cigarettes: 65,000 cigarettes,
94
282000
3000
Ovo je naprosto jako puno cigareta: 65000 cigareta,
04:57
which is equal to the number of teenagers
95
285000
2000
što je jednako broju teenagera
05:00
who will start smoking this month, and every month in the U.S.
96
288000
3000
koji će početi pušiti ovaj mjesec i svaki sljedeći mjesec u SAD-u.
05:03
More than 700,000 children in the United States aged 18 and under
97
291000
4000
Preko 700 tisuća djece u SAD-u starosti do 18 godina
05:07
begin smoking every year.
98
295000
2000
počinje pušiti svake godine.
05:09
One more strange epidemic in the United States
99
297000
5000
Još jedna čudna epidemija u SAD
05:15
that I want to acquaint you with
100
303000
2000
s kojom vas želim upoznati
05:17
is this phenomenon of abuse and misuse of prescription drugs.
101
305000
5000
je pojava zlouporabe lijekova na recept.
05:23
This is an image I've made out of lots and lots of Vicodin.
102
311000
4000
Ovo je slika koju sam napravio od jako puno Vicodin-a (analgetik) -
05:27
Well, actually, I only had one Vicodin
103
315000
2000
u stvari, imao sam samo jedan Vicodin
05:29
that I scanned lots and lots of times.
104
317000
2000
kojeg sam skenirao jako puno puta.
05:31
(Laughter)
105
319000
1000
(smijeh)
05:32
And so, as you stand back, you see 213,000 Vicodin pills,
106
320000
3000
I ako se odmaknete vidite 213 000 Vicodin tableta,
05:35
which is the number of hospital emergency room visits
107
323000
3000
koje predstavljaju broj hitnih intervencija
05:39
yearly in the United States,
108
327000
1000
godišnje u SAD-u,
05:40
attributable to abuse and misuse of prescription painkillers
109
328000
5000
koje se mogu povezati sa zloporabom dozvoljenih analgetika
05:45
and anti-anxiety medications.
110
333000
1000
i antidepresiva.
05:46
One-third of all drug overdoses in the U.S. --
111
334000
4000
Jedna trećina svih predoziranja u SAD-u -
05:50
and that includes cocaine, heroin, alcohol, everything --
112
338000
3000
a u to su ubrojeni kokain, heroin, alkohol, sve -
05:53
one-third of drug overdoses are prescription medications.
113
341000
4000
jedna trećina predoziranja je lijekovima na recept.
05:58
A strange phenomenon.
114
346000
1000
Čudna pojava.
05:59
This is a piece that I just recently completed
115
347000
4000
Ovo je djelo koje sam nedavno završio
06:03
about another tragic phenomenon. And that is the phenomenon,
116
351000
3000
o još jednoj tragičnoj pojavi, a to je fenomen
06:06
this growing obsession we have with breast augmentation surgery.
117
354000
4000
rastuće opsjednutosti operacijom za povećanje grudi.
06:12
384,000 women, American women, last year
118
360000
4000
384 tisuće žena, američkih žena, prošle je godine
06:16
went in for elective breast augmentation surgery.
119
364000
4000
otišlo na medicinski neindicirano povećanje grudi.
06:21
It's rapidly becoming the most popular high school graduation gift,
120
369000
4000
To postaje najpopularniji maturalni poklon
06:25
given to young girls who are about to go off to college.
121
373000
4000
djevojkama koje kreću na studij.
06:31
So, I made this image out of Barbie dolls,
122
379000
3000
Stoga sam napravio ovu sliku od Barbie lutkica
06:34
and so, as you stand back you see this kind of floral pattern,
123
382000
5000
i kad se malo odmaknete vidi se nešto kao cvjetni uzorak
06:39
and as you get all the way back, you see 32,000 Barbie dolls,
124
387000
4000
i kako se odmičete sve dalje, vidite 32 tisuće Barbie lutkica
06:43
which represents the number of breast augmentation surgeries
125
391000
3000
koje predstavljaju broj operacija povećanja grudi
06:46
that are performed in the U.S. each month.
126
394000
2000
koje se obave u SAD svaki mjesec.
06:48
The vast majority of those are on women under the age of 21.
127
396000
5000
Ogromnu većinu čine žene starosti do 21 godine.
06:54
And strangely enough, the only plastic surgery
128
402000
2000
I ma kako čudno to izgledalo, jedina plastična operacija
06:56
that is more popular than breast augmentation is liposuction,
129
404000
4000
koja je popularnija od povećanja grudi je liposukcija,
07:00
and most of that is being done by men.
130
408000
2000
koju koriste uglavnom muškarci.
07:02
Now, I want to emphasize that these are just examples.
131
410000
4000
Htio bih naglasiti: ovo su samo primjeri.
07:06
I'm not holding these out as being the biggest issues.
132
414000
3000
Ne tvrdim da su to najveći problemi
07:09
They're just examples.
133
417000
2000
Ovo su samo primjeri.
07:12
And the reason that I do this, it's because I have this fear
134
420000
4000
A razlog zbog kojeg ja to radim je što se bojim
07:16
that we aren't feeling enough as a culture right now.
135
424000
3000
da nismo trenutno dovoljno svjesni toga kao društvo.
07:20
There's this kind of anesthesia in America at the moment.
136
428000
3000
Trenutno smo u SAD-u anestezirani.
07:23
We've lost our sense of outrage, our anger and our grief
137
431000
8000
Izgubili smo smisao za neprihvatljivo, našu ljutnju i našu bol
07:31
about what's going on in our culture right now,
138
439000
2000
za to što se sada događa u našem društvu,
07:33
what's going on in our country,
139
441000
1000
što se događa u našoj zemlji,
07:34
the atrocities that are being committed in our names around the world.
140
442000
2000
koji su zločini počinjeni u naše ime diljem svijeta
07:36
They've gone missing; these feelings have gone missing.
141
444000
3000
Izgubili smo prosudbu, osjećaji su nas napustili
07:40
Our cultural joy, our national joy is nowhere to be seen.
142
448000
3000
Radost našeg društva, radost našeg naroda više se ne vidi.
07:43
And one of the causes of this, I think,
143
451000
3000
I jedan od uzroka za to, po mom mišljenju
07:47
is that as each of us attempts to build this new kind of worldview,
144
455000
4000
je taj što svatko od nas izgrađuje novu sliku svijeta
07:51
this holoptical worldview, this holographic image
145
459000
4000
tog cjelovitog, vidljivog, sveobuhvatnog pogleda
07:55
that we're all trying to create in our mind
146
463000
2000
kojeg svi pokušavamo stvoriti u svojim mislima
07:57
of the interconnection of things: the environmental footprints
147
465000
3000
o međupovezanosti svega: o ožiljcima na okolišu
08:00
1,000 miles away of the things that we buy;
148
468000
3000
1000 milja daleko od mjesta gdje smo kupili proizvod
08:03
the social consequences 10,000 miles away
149
471000
2000
o socijalnim posljedicama 10 tisuća milja udaljenih
08:06
of the daily decisions that we make as consumers.
150
474000
3000
od mjesta gdje svakodnevno donosimo odluke kao potrošači.
08:09
As we try to build this view,
151
477000
2000
I dok pokušavamo stvoriti tu sliku
08:11
and try to educate ourselves about the enormity of our culture,
152
479000
3000
i pokušavamo se educirati o veličajnosti našeg društva
08:14
the information that we have to work with is these gigantic numbers:
153
482000
5000
moramo nekako 'obraditi' te ogromne brojeve
08:20
numbers in the millions, in the hundreds of millions,
154
488000
3000
brojeve veličine miijuna, stotina milijuna
08:23
in the billions and now in the trillions.
155
491000
2000
milijarde a sada i tisuće milijarda.
08:26
Bush's new budget is in the trillions, and these are numbers
156
494000
2000
Bushev novi proračun je u tisućama milijardi, a taj broj
08:28
that our brain just doesn't have the ability to comprehend.
157
496000
3000
naš mozak naprosto ne može pojmiti.
08:32
We can't make meaning out of these enormous statistics.
158
500000
4000
Ne možemo izvući značenje iz ogromnog broja podataka
08:36
And so that's what I'm trying to do with my work,
159
504000
3000
I stoga ja pokušavam u svojim djelima
08:40
is to take these numbers, these statistics
160
508000
1000
uzeti te brojke, te podatke
08:41
from the raw language of data, and to translate them
161
509000
5000
iz bezličnog svijeta podataka i prevesti ih
08:46
into a more universal visual language, that can be felt.
162
514000
3000
u vizualni govor koji svi bolje razumijemo i osjećamo.
08:49
Because my belief is, if we can feel these issues,
163
517000
4000
Vjerujem, da ako možemo shvatiti te probleme,
08:53
if we can feel these things more deeply,
164
521000
2000
i ako bolje razumijemo bit problema,
08:55
then they'll matter to us more than they do now.
165
523000
4000
da ćemo se više i baviti tim problemom nego do sada.
09:00
And if we can find that,
166
528000
1000
I ako to možemo prihvatiti
09:01
then we'll be able to find, within each one of us,
167
529000
4000
onda ćemo biti u stanju svaki ponaosob
09:06
what it is that we need to find to face the big question,
168
534000
3000
shvatiti što treba napraviti da se suočimo s pitanjem svih pitanja:
09:09
which is: how do we change?
169
537000
2000
Kako se promijenti?
09:12
That, to me, is the big question that we face as a people right now:
170
540000
5000
To je po meni pitanje s kojim se suočavamo trenutno kao ljudska vrsta:
09:17
how do we change? How do we change as a culture,
171
545000
3000
Kako se promijeniti? Kako promijeniti društvo,
09:21
and how do we each individually take responsibility
172
549000
4000
i kako da svatko od nas preuzme svoj dio odgovornosti
09:25
for the one piece of the solution that we are in charge of,
173
553000
3000
za onaj dio rješenja koji je u njegovoj nadležnosti.
09:29
and that is our own behavior?
174
557000
1000
Kako promijeti svoje ponašanje?
09:30
My belief is that you don't have to make yourself bad
175
558000
9000
Uvjeren sam da se ne moramo sramiti sebe
09:40
to look at these issues.
176
568000
2000
kad se suočavamo s tim pitanjima.
09:42
I'm not pointing the finger at America in a blaming way.
177
570000
4000
Ja ne upirem optužujuće prstom na Ameriku.
09:46
I'm simply saying, this is who we are right now.
178
574000
2000
Ja samo želim reći: ovakvi smo sada
09:48
And if there are things that we see
179
576000
2000
I ako vidimo da ima stvari koje
09:50
that we don't like about our culture,
180
578000
1000
nam se ne sviđaju u našem društvu,
09:51
then we have a choice.
181
579000
2000
onda imamo izbor.
10:02
The degree of integrity that each of us can bring to the surface,
182
590000
5000
Svi mi možemo svojom čestitosti doprinjeti sučeljavanju
10:07
to bring to this question, the depth of character that we can summon,
183
595000
5000
s tim pitanjem, možemo se osloniti na snagu ličnosti koju posjedujemo
10:14
as we show up for the question of how do we change --
184
602000
3000
kad se sučeljavamo s pitanjem: Kako se promijeniti?
10:17
it's already defining us as individuals and as a nation,
185
605000
6000
To nas već sada obilježava kao pojedince i kao narod
10:25
and it will continue to do that, on into the future.
186
613000
3000
i biti će to tako i u budućnosti.
10:28
And it will profoundly affect the well-being, the quality of life
187
616000
7000
I to će duboko utjecati na blagostanje, na kvalitetu života
10:35
of the billions of people
188
623000
1000
milijarde ljudi
10:36
who are going to inherit the results of our decisions.
189
624000
5000
koji će naslijediti poslijedice naših odluka.
10:45
I'm not speaking abstractly about this,
190
633000
1000
Ne pričam o tome kao o nečemu nestvarnom
10:46
I'm speaking -- this is who we are in this room,
191
634000
9000
Govorim vam - takvi smo mi koji smo u ovoj dvorani.
10:56
right now, in this moment.
192
644000
2000
Upravo sada, u ovom trenutku.
10:58
Thank you and good afternoon.
193
646000
4000
Zahvaljujem Vam i želim ugodno poslijepodne
11:03
(Applause)
194
651000
6000
(pljesak)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Chris Jordan - ArtistChris Jordan runs the numbers on modern American life -- making large-format, long-zoom artwork from the most mindblowing data about our stuff.
Why you should listen
Photographer Chris Jordan trains his eye on American consumption. His 2003-05 series "Intolerable Beauty" examines the hypnotic allure of the sheer amount of stuff we make and consume every day: cliffs of baled scrap, small cities of shipping containers, endless grids of mass-produced goods.
His 2005 book In Katrina's Wake: Portraits of Loss from an Unnatural Disaster is a chilling, unflinching look at the toll of the storm. And his latest series of photographs, "Running the Numbers," gives dramatic life to statistics of US consumption. Often-heard factoids like "We use 2 million plastic bottles every 5 minutes" become a chilling sea of plastic that stretches beyond our horizon.
In April 2008, Jordan traveled around the world with National Geographic as an international eco-ambassador for Earth Day 2008.
Chris Jordan | Speaker | TED.com