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Artist uses his works to show consumption stats
Photographer runs the numbers
Chris Jordan / MCT Jordan's series "Running the Numbers," represents the scale and scope of Americans' consumption habits.
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As a photographer, Chris Jordan tries to visually represent otherwise numbing statistics in a way "we can feel them, so they will matter to us."
Jordan said he believes numbers can get so big, "we can't make meaning out of these enormous statistics."
In his latest series of large-scale photographs, "Running the Numbers," Jordan tries to show the scale of Americans' consumption. He notes that, because of their large size and detail, the works are best seen in person.
From a distance, the photos are familiar — sometimes iconic — images. But zoom in close and you'll see he's composed them by arranging materials in numbers that represent certain habits.
For example, one piece depicts one million plastic cups, which equals the number used by U.S. airlines every six hours. The intricate piece creates curves and whorls with the image of stacked cups. Another shows 200,000 packs of cigarettes, which equals the number of Americans who die every six months from the effects of smoking. That piece shows a smoking skeleton from afar, based on a painting by Van Gogh, but breaks down into the individual cartons up close.
"I have this fear that we are not feeling enough as a culture now," Jordan said. "We've lost our sense of outrage, our anger and our grief over outrages occurring because of our behaviors."
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