At the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art’s newest exhibit, “Running the Numbers 1: An American Self-Portrait,” consumerism, social problems and addictions are on display. The artist, Chris Jordan, took statistics of these problems and turned them into both hauntingly beautiful and shocking works of visual art.
A lawyer-turned-artist, Jordan has been called the “it” artist of today’s green movement. In his works he uses everyday objects — plastic bottles, cigarette packs, etc. — to represent statistics.
“Chris Jordan’s contribution comes out of frustration of being able to visualize or conceptualize the magnitude of our impact on the planet,” exhibit curator Chris Bruce said. “But not simply showing the magnitude of our problems, rather, the role of the individual act, the role of the one in the many.”
One of Jordan’s works, “Skull with Cigarette,” draws upon Vincent Van Gogh’s “Skull with a Burning Cigarette” for inspiration. From afar it looks like a giant replicate of Van Gogh’s work, but up close the entire skull is made up of a mosaic of 200,000 cigarette packs, equal to the number of Americans who die from smoking cigarettes every six months.
All of his pieces use digitized art to represent these statistical numbers. Some pieces are more abstract, and some are largely simple, but all pieces garnered strong reactions from the viewers.
In 2007, when Jordan appeared on the television show “The Colbert Report,” the audience gasped when they saw the close up of his piece “Cans Seurat,” depicting the 106,000 aluminum cans used in the U.S. every 30 seconds.
Because most of his pieces concern consumerism, waste and sustainability, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum used the opening of the Chris Jordan exhibit in an effort to go green.
“We’re now focusing on sustainability … in the gallery and throughout the museum,” communications manager Debbie Williamson-Smith said.
Before the opening, the museum started its own green movement by advertising the exhibit through online ads and social media, and used no paper fliers for the first time.
At the opening, with the help of the UO Outdoor Program, the museum featured two stationary bicyclists powering the music speakers. Museum special events assistant Mike Ragsdale said power generated by one bicyclist can power one speaker.
Williams-Smith also said the museum is testing LED lighting for this exhibit.
“We’re one of three museums testing LED lighting in the exhibit,” Williams-Smith said. “The others are the Getty and the Smithsonian.”
This focus on green living and sustainability resonates throughout most of Jordan’s exhibit.
Though his pieces are relatively simple-looking, the unbelievably tiny details are what make his pieces so effective and symbolic of the wastefulness of American consumerism.
One such piece is called “Plastic Bottles,” which is meant to represent the two million bottles used in the U.S. every five minutes. The piece displays a sea of two million bottles, which is relatively uninspiring at first glance. But on further reflection, the technicality and impact of the art is even greater.
In a book about his exhibit, called “Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait,” Jordan said his idea for the exhibit is to “give you the statistic that allows the viewer to experience the number more directly with their heart.”
Through his unique art, Jordan hopes individual viewers will feel the impact of the collective problem of consumerism.
“The underlying aim is to question our roles and responsibilities as individuals in a society that is increasingly enormous, incomprehensible and overwhelming,” Jordan wrote.
The exhibit will be on display through April 10. Jordan will be discussing his career and issues made relevant through “Running the Numbers” at the Knight Law School on Jan. 26.
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