Repost This ArticlePhotographer Chris Jordan describes the photos in his series “Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption” as his “first foray into being an engaged artist.” 
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Cell phones #2, Atlanta, 2005
"The idea [behind this series] was to capture the scale of [our] mass consumption. It was the first time I stood in front of piles of the detritus of our mass consumption." "Cell phones #2, Atlanta, 2005"
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Cell phone chargers, Atlanta, 2004
"Initially, I thought I was seeing the scale [but] in the end, I realized this was the tiny tip of the iceberg." "Cell phone chargers, Atlanta, 2004"
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e-Bank, Tacoma, 2004
"It was interesting to see the limitations of this series and the photos. [Mass consumption is an] invisible phenomenon-- there's no one place I can go to capture it all." "e-Bank, Tacoma, 2004"Intermission
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Crushed cars #2, Tacoma, 2004
"There's a hierarchy of activism.... What my work is about to feel these issues myself.... A large part of change is acknowledging feelings we have and connecting with these issues." "Crushed cars #2, Tacoma, 2004"
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Oil Filters, Seattle, 2003
"[All this waste] is something that's sort of kept hidden." "Oil Filters, Seattle, 2003"
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Spent bullet casings, 2005
"I almost felt like a spy. I felt like this was something people needed to see." "Spent bullet casings, 2005"
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Circuit boards #2, New Orleans, 2005
"80% [of the photos in this series] were 'straight' photos. As I ran up against these limitations of photography...I started arranging the subject." "Circuit boards #2, New Orleans, 2005"
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Circuit boards, Atlanta, 2004
"I also felt like I aged about five years during this series. Virtually all the photos...required that I trespass. I'd go ask [for permission to photograph these piles of waste] but I'd get all these vague excuses: Homeland Security, insurance regulations.... I think it was really a weird fear about photography and exposure [even though] I offered veto [power], showed them my previous work, and explained I didn't name individuals or companies. This was about [documenting] a nationwide, cultural phenomenon." Circuit boards, Atlanta, 2004"
Julie Schwietert
Julie Schwietert Collazo is a writer, editor, researcher, and translator currently in New York, formerly of Mexico City and San Juan. She is Matador's managing editor and is the lead faculty member of MatadorU's travel writing program.
For those of you that don’t know, in the US, at least 65% of “waste” steel is recycled. Additionally, the spent casings are probably brass, approximately 90% of brass is recycled. Seeing steel and brass the piles means that it is already in the recycling stream. Not very provocative when you know the facts, is it?
OK, so that takes care of the cars and casings. Now what about the other 98% of waste? Is the Pacific “plastic continent” not provocative enough?
The fact that almost all of the things he took pictures of were sorted (the cell phones, the circuit boards) means that at least some of the components are going to be recycled. Nobody’s going to separate out all the cell phones from a trash stream just so they can make a “cell phone pile” at the landfill. Theyre doing it because they can make money by recycling something from that cell phone (my guess is either the batteries or the plastic).
The “e-bank” picture is what real trash looks like, just a big pile of random crap.
Unas fotos bien pajas, se ven interesantes, sobre todo la de los celulares (primera foto) .. cool man !!
Will this affect the American consumer mind? Atleast, standing the shopping mall for once they would think……
Neat Pictures!