Edward Burtynsky

Oxford Tire Pile #9b, 1999

Artist Statement: "Nature transformed through industry is a predominant theme in my work. I set course to intersect with a contemporary view of the great ages of man; from stone, to minerals, oil, transportation, silicon, and so on. To make these ideas visible I search for subjects that are rich in detail and scale yet open in their meaning. Recycling yards, mine tailings, quarries and refineries are all places that are outside of our normal experience, yet we partake of their output on a daily basis.These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We are drawn by desire - a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our
consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times." http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/

I believe his urban mines of metal recycling and tires are his strongest works about impact of industries on the environment. His photographs create a feeling that makes unfortable and anxious to fix the problem therefore considered a eco-artist.

Nick Ut

Huynh Cong Ut is also known as 'Nick Ut' was born in 1951. He is a photographer and works in Los Angeles. His work involves war images in the Vietnam war and lately the pop culture of celebrities such as Paris Hilton. The photographs of war are images of children in caught up in the voilence of the war. Such as the image to the left. His images are strong and create a sense of fear.

Taken June 8, 1972, this photograph earned Ut the Pulitzer prize, and Kim Phuc, center, a great deal of attention for many years. (© Nick Ut/The Associated Press)

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0008/ng2.htm is a good site with more photographs of children in a war environment.

Social He(art) Blog

Socialheartblog.com

This website is a good resource about international artist dealing with different issues of social justice. It is easy to use because you can look up artist by name, continent, or issue. Some of the artist issues include: child soldiers, domestic violence, eating disorders, gender, mental health, self-harm, the environment, war crimes, etc.

I give this website 5 stars!!!!

Elizabeth Catlet

"(born April 15, 1915) is an African-American sculptor and printmaker.

Catlett is best known for the black, expressionistic sculptures and prints she produced during the 1960s and 1970s, which are seen as politicaly charged."

She focuses on African Americans as her focus for her artwork and the relation to the today's society. She uses the relationships between family members of African Americans and others, heros, and the work life.

http://www.mojoportfolio.com/artist_search/african_american/catlett.html

Henry Darger

(1892- 1973)

• worked as a custodian in Chicago, Illinois
• artwork is considered an example of "outsider art"
• also an American writer

"Darger's work contains many religious themes, albeit handled extremely idiosyncratically" and "child labor" issues with his work, In the Realms of the Unreal .

His work has changed "since his death in 1973 and the discovery of his massive opus, and especially since the 1990s, there have been many references in popculture and along with other artist to Darger's work".

http://www.hammergallery.com/Artists/darger/Darger.htm

I believe Henry Darger artwork has to do with social justice in the fact his work is about pop culture of his time. His work is colorful with childlike images of stories he either wrote himself from the life he lives or of stories of the past. An outsider artist is "described as art created outside the boundaries of official culture", out there. Although his stories were werid and out there, they are in relation to his history and about what people define as crazy or crazy people. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outsider_art

Mark Lawrence

http://www.marklawrencegallery.com/pages/about-mark

"The Christian art I create is not an attempt to depict a likeness, nor an image of anything to be worshipped here on earth, or in heaven above. My art is created to point all people to Jesus Christ who is worthy of all of our honor, glory and praise.” Mark Lawrence

Mark creates "contemporary Christian abstract paintings" to spread the word of God through images from the text of the Bible. I consider this a social justice artist due to the fact he is trying to pread the word of something he believes in. Using images to signify text from the bible is a good way to get a view interested in how that person decodes the bible. In today's society, it seems like religion is more questioned.

Robert Adams

Robert Adams, born in New Jersey in 1937, uses black and white photography to "document scenes of America, revealing the impact of human activity on the wilderness and open space". I would consider him to be a eco-artist because of his statement towards humans cutting down trees, deforestation, and what is left to the forest. His black and white photos of trees and stumps capture his feelings of nature and its beauty of what was once there.

He is an Art 21, contemporary artist. There is a good video of him talking about his work on Season 4: Ecology.