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BluePrint

        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.

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