RYERSON GALLERY AND RESEARCH CENTRE PRESENTS
EDWARD BURTYNSKY: OIL - THE SYMPOSIUM
TORONTO, March 30, 2011- The Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre will present a two-day symposium Edward Burtynsky: Oil, on the gallery’s first major exhibition before its grand opening in September 2012. The symposium brings together top scientific and arts industry experts on May 6 and May 7, 2011 to discuss the essential issues of oil, planetary sustainability, and the energy options available to us, from both scientific and aesthetic points of view.
The Edward Burtynsky: Oil Symposium, which has been made possible through the generous support of the Nicholas Metivier Gallery, will take place at Ryerson University, George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre, Room ENG-103, 245 Church St., Toronto. Admission is free.
Program highlights include:
Friday, May 6
1. 7:00 p.m.
Opening keynote address by William Rees, professor at the University of British Columbia, and originator and co-developer of ecological footprint analysis.
“How Humanity Became a Rogue: The Growing Economics and the Shrinking Ecosphere,”Professor Rees will discuss global environmental trends and the ecological conditions for sustainable socioeconomic development.
2. 8:00 p.m.
Keynote presentation by David Harris, curator, photographic historian, and Professor at Ryerson University’s School of Image Arts.
“Topography and Spectacle: Contextualizing the Landscapes of Edward Burtynsky”offers a historical context for Edward Burtynsky’s impressive body of work by situating it within the development of artistic and documentary practices of photography and the photograph’s place in museums and the art market.
3. 9:00 p.m.
Manufactured Landscapes, the striking documentary film by Jennifer Baichwal, follows Edward Burtynsky through China as he shoots the evidence and effects of the country’s massive industrial revolution.
Saturday, May 7
1. 10:00 a.m.
Renowned photographer and environmentalist Edward Burtynsky will discuss his groundbreaking work in a conversation on stage with Richard Rhodes, Editor ofCanadian Art.
2. 11:00 a.m.
Tom Rand, author of “Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit: 10 Clean Technologies to Save Our World,” will present a key note address on his book.Combining the views of an engineer and venture capitalist, Mr. Rand will provide an overview of the technologies which can deliver the energy required to run our economy, and an analysis of the policy, political and financial hurdles we face.
3. 2:00 p.m.
A panel discussion with leading scientists from across North America will address the planet’s increasing need for energy and propose innovative, practical solutions to the problems that lie ahead. Entitled “Innovations for the Future.The Final Decades of Oil and Beyond” the discussion will be moderated by Edward Burtynsky. Panelists includeLisa Margonelli (Director of the New America Foundation Energy Policy Initiative, Washington), Tom Rand, William Rees, Richard Sears (Visiting Scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative and the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems, former executive at Shell), and David Naylor (Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University).
4. 4:00 p.m.
“Photography as Intervention,” a panel discussion on the photographic work of Edward Burtynsky and its provocative aesthetic power, includes leading art critics and researchers from major international art institutions and professional publications. Moderated by Eleanor Wachtel (Writer and Host of CBC’s “Writers and Company”), the panelists include Sarah Milroy (Art Critic and Writer, former Art Critic at the Globe and Mail), Michael Mitchell (Photographer, Filmmaker and Writer), Paul Roth (Executive Director of The Richard Avedon Foundation, New York and Curator of the Edward Burtynsky: Oil exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington), and Robert Burley (Photographer, Professor, School of Image Arts, Ryerson University).
The exhibition Edward Burtynsky: Oil, presented by the Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre, Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, and Scotiabank Group, features fifty-three beautiful and provocative large-format photographs by internationally renowned Canadian artist Edward Burtynsky, presented in three distinct groupings: Extraction and Refinement, Transportation and Motor Culture, and The End of Oil. The exhibition takes place April 9 – July 3, 2011, at the Institute of Contemporary Culture at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Edward Burtynsky: Oil is organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and made possible with the generous support of the Scotiabank Group.
EDWARD BURTYNSKY: OIL SYMPOSIUM
Presented by the Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre
Generously supported by the Nicholas Metivier Gallery
Friday May 6 & Saturday May 7, 2011
FREE admission
Ryerson University, George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre, Room ENG-103, 245 Church St., Toronto
Info: www.ryerson.ca/gallery 416-979-5000 x6843
The Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre will combine public exhibition of innovative work by professional Canadian and international artists, with inspiring academic research and educational opportunities, when it opens in September 2012. The Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre will be located in the School of Image Arts building on Gould Street, onthe Ryerson campus, in the heart of downtown Toronto. More information about the School of Image Arts building is available at:http://www.ryerson.ca/news/news/General_Public/20101129_image.html
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Ryerson University
416.879.0283, heatherkelly@ryerson.ca
Johanna VanderMaas
Public Affairs
Ryerson University
416-979-5000 x 4630
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