Conde Nast Portfolio magazine aptly described Chris Jordan in January 2008 as “the unofficial artist of the Harper’s Index.” Inspired by the 1977 Charles and Ray Eames film Powers of Ten, he takes hard statistics and cold numbers and turns them into art that both dazzles and provokes.

When I was hired as festival director at Mountainfilm, Chris was the first person I called to invite. I took it as a good omen when he said “yes” and am thrilled that, besides displaying his work in the Gallery Walk at Telluride Gallery of Fine Art, he will present slides and explain his creative process.

Chris, a former lawyer, will discuss how his work is a looking glass into the prevailing culture of consumption. “When you stand back, you behold the collective, the forest,” Chris says. “But as you step closer, you see that it’s made up only of individual trees. What I’m trying to suggest is that every individual matters. Our vote does count. If we do bad stuff, it does count.”
- David Holbrooke