The Merchant & the Leviathan:
Photographs of a Global Shipping Industry
by James Burleigh Morton
Tuesday, January 3rd to Sunday, March 18th, 2012
The Department of Visual Arts is pleased to present an exhibition of photographs by James Burleigh Morton, Union class of 2010. James Burleigh Morton was one of Union’s Thomas J. Watson Fellows for 2010-2011. This prestigious fellowship funded a year-long project of travel photographing the global shipping industry using a large-format 4x5 camera. Morton’s photographs, exhibited here in printed form for the first time, take us across several continents, from South Korea to Australia, and from India to Romania. The wide range of works exhibited here reveals the depth of the photographer’s fascination with the many dimensions of contemporary maritime shipping. Morton shows us everything from ship-building to ship salvage, from monumental vessels to everyday details. He also introduces us to the human side of this complex industry with a series of engaging portraits. The stunning digital prints are incredibly rich in detail, color, and texture. They show this young photographer’s dedication to the medium of photography, his passionate interest in maritime culture, and his ability to captivate the eye with form and color.
