A Lawyer’s Prerogative

My first impressions of Chris Jordan’s “Running the Numbers” exhibit were those of curiosity, awe and annoyance. My curiosity arose from just a glance at the photographs. They were so large, yet appeared to be nothing (excluding a few). The first print I stopped at was entitled “Plastic Bottles.” I looked at it from a distance, and then took a closer look. I was surprised to find that it was actually plastic bottles. It made me very curious as to what the rest of the prints were. The next photo I looked at was entitled “Cans Seurat,” which was very well put together. I especially liked that it was a picture, not just a blur like so many of the others. After touring the entire art exhibit it was clear to me that his purpose was to awe his viewers. He wanted people to think about what each print represented and perhaps take home a message they otherwise would not have from a bunch of statistics. My annoyance arose after contemplating his art. I was annoyed that I did not know where the statistics can from, and I was also annoyed that the statistics were not timely. However, I think his intentions behind the prints are noble. While some could take his exhibit as solely a political attack, I took it to be an awareness campaign with a twist.

I looked up what the art critics had to say about Chris Jordan’s “Running the Numbers,” and while I did not find many helpful synopses, I found out something even more interesting. I did not know that Chris Jordan was a lawyer who later became a photographer. This knowledge made his exhibit so much more believable, yet also made me question his motives. I have a great respect for lawyers and believe that they are highly educated, as well as hard working. However, I also know that lawyers are taught to perfect the art of persuasion and argumentation. It is obvious to me that Chris Jordan was trying to persuade his viewers to look at issues of crime, cup consumption, and toothpick production in a different light. He emphasized the vastness of America’s consumption and depicted it in a way that inspired a feeling of guilt, a lawyer-like tactic.

Further, after reading an interview that Chris Jordan had with Bill Moyers of PBS, I felt differently about him still. He explained many of his pieces and how he stumbled into an interest in each subject, and then he ended his interview with this quote:

"I want people to realize that they matter. Because, to me, that’s the key. When you stand back from the print you see the collective. And as you walk up close, you can see that the collective is only made up of lots and lots of individuals. There is no bad consumer over there somewhere who needs to be educated. There is no public out there who needs to change. And that’s kind of the underlying message that I’m trying to convey. It’s each one of us." – Chris Jordan

He really seems genuinely concerned about individual participation for the betterment of society through this quote, but what about his piece entitled “Ben Franklin?” Besides the basic election of our leaders, how can an individual prevent billions of dollars from being used to fight a war?
All questions aside, I do believe that Chris Jordan’s intentions were to focus on the individual, but bias and politics were not left out. His “Prison Uniforms” created an atmosphere of negativity about society, but also inspired me to consider my actions and reflect on those of my acquaintances. I also had a chance to see “Barbie Dolls,” and think this print targets issues surrounding the individual’s self perception, but also criticizes doll manufacturers for introducing the “perfect body” into a unique society. I believe that Chris Jordan’s work is truly impressive from a processing standpoint. It takes patients and skill to be able to incorporate photographs like he did. I applaud his attempt to create a powerful image out of statistics, and hope individuals will find something inspiring about at least one of his prints.