Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan's "Running the Numbers" is a work of the digital age, possible through the use of a computer, inkjet printing, and what is undoubtedly some clever programming. Skull with Cigarette 2007 depicts 200,000 boxes of cigarettes, which Jordan's website claims equal to the cigarette industry's semi-annual death toll. Further images cite statistics about plastic cups, commercial flights, junk mail, bankruptcy and the US military budget. An image of Ben Franklin comprised of one-hundred-and-twenty-five-thousand $100 bills, the equivalent of $12.5 million dollars, represents the cost hourly cost of operations in Iraq. There is a cleverness and a message in this work, but my initial infatuation wore off as the systematic nature of the images became disappointing. They began to feel machined, it became obvious they were little more than algorithms and the magic wore off. The numbers, which begin as both staggering and alarming, become distracting. It is too bad the true scale of what Jordan is trying to communicate is so difficult to qualify visually. Regardless of some noticeable pixels and some other shortcomings, some inherent to digital media, I appreciate the exhibit, there is a message backing the work. Jordan's concentrated effort to bring attention to relevant issues represents a voice that is losing its position amidst the din of modern media.

http://www.chrisjordan.com/gallery/rtn/#car-keys