Water Tower, photograph
Disaster. On the surface, the two creative endeavors may seem at
odds: one is photography of grim scenes of ruin, the other is blissfully
sculptural and fun. Together, these artistic projects illustrate that both
creation and destruction cannot only be housed in the same artist, but
that both can be complementary to the art-making process.
In the piece, Kaboom, the viewer is presented with what appears to be
the aftermath of an explosion. A raging fi re consumes shattered furni-
ture and household items, producing a thick, billowing, black smoke.
There is so much broken furniture that it almost appears to be a heap-
ing mound of trash or the scene of a landfi ll fi re. While no fi gures are
depicted, surely this must have been someone’s home or even the
remains of an entire neighborhood. There are more questions than an-
swers, and the viewer does not fully comprehend the events depicted.
This uncertainty, this lack of detailed information, is intentional. Of his
creative process, MacDonald explains, “I use repetition or patterning
to contrast the static forms, in order to create both a sense of order and
confusion.” The viewer craves information—the details, the cause,
the reasons why—and he or she is denied.
Recipes for Disaster is a commentary on technology’s role in not only
documenting a tragedy, but also glorifying it. MacDonald, an artist
with a degree in journalism, does this not by photographing events
that have taken place, but by creating the destructive events himself.
By crafting scenes with small-scale sculptures, destroying said scenes,
and then photographing the aftermath, he assumes all roles in the
staged tragedy. MacDonald states, “I constructed and photographed
miniaturized landscapes of domestic environments exploding, that
refl ect our insatiable appetite for sensationalized images of violence Recipes for Disaster highlights the surreal nature of catastrophes, man-
and destruction.” With this series, he is the creator and destroyer of made or otherwise, especially when broadcast through technology’s
worlds, and the effect is disturbing and powerful.
fi lter. Objects are destroyed and are almost unrecognizable. Scenes
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