Running the Numbers: Portraits of Mass Consumption

106,000: The number of aluminum cans used in the USevery thirty seconds, as seen in Chris Jordan's 'Cans Seurat'

When we read and hear statistics about the vast damage being done to our planet, how can we visualize numbers like 2.4 million? In Chris Jordan's "Gyre," a photograph presented as part of the Museum of Science's new exhibit, Running the Numbers: Portraits of Mass Consumption, guests will see a familiar surging wave that recalls Hokusai's famous woodblock print, "The Great Wave off Kanagawa." But when they look closer, they'll see that it's actually a large-scale photograph of 2.4 million pieces of plastic, representing the number of pounds of plastic pollution that enter the world's oceans every hour. Presented November 12, 2009 through May 9, 2010, Running the Numbers will translate the raw language of statistics into powerful images of mass consumption. These photos aim to provoke an emotional response not felt with numbers alone.

Sociologists say that the human mind cannot meaningfully grasp numbers higher than a few thousand; yet everyday we hear about numbers in millions, billions, even trillions. In Running the Numbers, Jordan, an internationally acclaimed artist and cultural activist, presents detailed prints that will show guests how simple individual actions, such as the use of aluminum cans, affect our world. Assembled from thousands of smaller photographs, each image portrays a specific quantity, allowing guests to visualize a previously unfathomable statistic. Another work in the exhibit, "Cans Seurat" appears at first glance to be a remake of Seurat's recognizable masterpiece, "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." Upon closer inspection, the photo reveals itself to be comprised of 106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the US every thirty seconds.

"My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than raw numbers alone," said Jordan. "I hope to raise some questions about the roles and responsibilities we each play as individuals in a collective that is increasingly enormous, incomprehensible, and overwhelming."

"The Museum is excited to present Chris Jordan's works, which we hope will open visitor's eyes to the implications of our personal actions and their cumulative impact across an entire society," said David Rabkin, Director for Current Science and Technology at the Museum of Science. "In a world where we are bombarded daily by incomprehensible statistics, a view through Jordan's artistic lens can transform how we perceive those dreary statistics about consumption and waste, and lead us to better understand the implications of our daily choices."

Running the Numbers: Portraits of Mass Consumption will be located in the Museum's Blue Wing, Level 2, and will present seven distinct prints:

• Gyre - Depicts 2.4 million pieces of plastic, equal to the estimated number of pounds of plastic pollution that enter the world's oceans every hour. All of the plastic in this image was collected from the Pacific Ocean.
• Plastic Cups- Depicts one million plastic cups, the number used on airline flights in the US every six hours.
• Cans Seurat - Depicts 106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the US every thirty seconds.
• Cell Phones - Depicts 426,000 cell phones, equal to the number of cell phones retired in the US every day.
• Jet Trails - Depicts 11,000 jet trails, equal to the number of commercial flights in the US every eight hours.
• Paper Bags - Depicts 1.14 million brown paper supermarket bags, the number used in the US every hour.
• Plastic Bottles - Depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.

Source: Museum of Science

Photo: Michael Allen Smith, licensed under Creative Commons.