A Picture in a Picture

Seattle-based artist Chris Jordan has made a name for himself as an artist with a purpose, as well as a taste for social and political commentary. This lawyer-turned-artist has swept the nation by storm with his unique vision and stunning pieces. From the Colbert Report to The New York Times, Jordan’s thought-provoking artwork has captivated audiences and sparked conversations about the consumerism and commercialism that permeate the western world. Jordan’s style of inkjet print photography gives a surreal feeling to his work that starkly contrasts the reality his images represent. His most recent traveling exhibit, so aptly named “Running the Numbers,” is currently on display at Washington State University’s art museum.
One step into this exhibit takes the viewer first to the docks of the Port of Tacoma where thousands of containers await placement onto barges. In the background Mount Ranier looms over the strangely beautiful rows of colored flatbeds, reminding humanity that natural beauty is being overrun by society’s mass consumption. Though this particular piece is one with a more obvious message than several others in this exhibit, it sets the stage for a journey through our world of globalization and mass consumption that manages to highlight the role of the individual. Wandering across an almost eerily empty gallery surrounded by rich hardwood floors and walls creates a sensation of connectedness to the art. This particular atmosphere compliments the message of Jordan’s art by manifesting the polar opposite of the materialistic and cluttered lifestyle each piece embodies.
Jordan’s style involves creating large images through a succession of smaller ones, which creates a sense of wonder and excitement with each new piece. At the first glance at one of the more striking pieces in the exhibit, one will see Benjamin Franklin as he would appear on a 100-dollar bill on a canvas over ten feet tall and three feet wide. A closer look reveals thousands upon thousands of 100-dollar bills creating the larger image of Ben. Although intriguing in itself, upon reading the plaque to the left of this larger than life founding father one will find that there are in fact 125,000 100-dollar bills. This is the equivalent of 12.5 million dollars and the exact amount the US government spends every hour on the war in Iraq. This is just a small sample of Chris Jordan’s unique style and view on the world.
Although political issues are addressed in some of Jordan’s works, this is by no means his only topic. He addresses everything from wasted electricity, to breast augmentation: each in a unique and significant way. Jordan’s messages are made even more clear by the plaques next to each piece giving the statistic he is illustrating. Each piece was inspired by a certain American statistic Jordan wanted to represent visually:

“Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 32,000 breast augmentation surgeries in the U.S. every month” – Chris Jordan on “Running the Numbers”.

Some argue that Jordan’s work is biased and perhaps ‘picks on’ America and her citizens. However, it is difficult to take statistics and make them anything but what they are: facts. Every last one of Jordan’s statistics can be found and verified, which gives him credibility. He also addresses the issue of picking on America by stating that as an American he is in no position to preach to the public. He makes it clear that he is trying to simply give these statistics an aesthetical representation so the American public can perhaps grasp these numbers in a different way.
Chris Jordan’s “Running the Numbers,” regardless of one’s opinion about the environment, politics or even smoking, will leave every viewer wanting to know more. Some will want to know how he actually created his pieces, while others will want to do some research of their own on these seemingly ridiculous statistics. Either way, this exhibit makes an impression on each person who experiences it and will spark conversations that have the potential to change the world. Jordan’s artwork will be a testament to our time and our culture for years to come.