C R I S T I N E P O S N E R
BluePrint
Week 1, April 22-28, 2010, 9 articles, 0.6 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 2, April 29 - May 5, 2010, 22 articles, 0.9 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 3, May 6-12, 2010, 23 articles, 1.3 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 4, May 13-19, 2010, 18 articles, 1.7 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 5, May 20-26, 2010, 19 articles, 2.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 6, May 27 – June 2, 2010, 26 articles, 2.5 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 7, June 3-9, 2010, 30 articles, 2.8 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 8, June 10-16, 2010, 23 articles, 3.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 9, June 17-23, 2010, 29 articles, 3.3 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 10, June 24-30, 2010, 14 articles, 3.5 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 11, July 1-7, 2010, 13 articles, 3.7 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 12, July 8-14, 2010, 12 articles, 4.0 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 13, July 15-21, 2010, 20 articles, 4.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 14, July 22-28, 2010, 18 articles, 4.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 15, July 29 – August 4, 2010, 12 articles, 4.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 16, August 5-11, 2010, 12 articles, 4.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 17, August 12-18, 2010, 5 articles, 4.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 18, August 19-25, 2010, 9 articles, 4.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 19, August 26 – September 1, 2010, 8 articles, 4.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 20, September 2-8, 2010, 4 articles, 4.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 21, September 9-15, 2010, 2 articles, 4.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 22, September 16-22, 2010, 6 articles, 4.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 23, September 23-29, 2010, 3 articles, 4.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 24, September 30 – October 6, 2010, 2 articles, 4.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 25, October 7-13, 2010, 2 articles, 4.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Week 26, October 14-20, 2010, 0 articles, 4.1 million barrels. Cyanotype, 2011 16x12"
Installation view of BluePrint in “New News is Old News” exhibition at Aferro Gallery, Newark, NJ Cyanotypes, 2011
With the explosion of the BP Deepwater Horizon rig, came not only a rush of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, but also a rush of news coverage. Despite the fact the tragic story took a week or so to take hold, once the piece caught on, it also exploded. When we are bombarded and overwhelmed with news coverage of the same topic over and over again, this project questions how much of the information is actually read and retained?
Blueprint is a series of cyanotypes dealing with the idea of printed news as a metaphorical blueprint, laying down for the public what is important and of current concern. Starting with the first printed article of the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion, the artist meticulously followed the news coverage of the event, cataloging and organizing articles reported in the New York Times print edition. The information found in the non-archival newspaper was printed using the cyanotype process, giving it permanence. This eradicable event in particular, has permanently altered our Earth. Despite this permanence, it's existence in the forefront of our concerns was merely temporary. The lack of public interest became apparent in the diminishing news coverage. When the oil was leaking, the news was widespread, however, once the leak was plugged, the news coverage disappeared along with much of the concern. If only the estimated 4.1 million barrels of oil had also disappeared.