The image I chose was taken by photographer Terry Evans and depicts an oil pipeline near White Earth, North Dakota. It is one of many photographs that were taken to comprise a series documenting the North Dakota Oil Boom. The majority of the frame is filled with rolling green hills that appear nearly untouched by man, but their fluidity is ruined by the pipeline. This photograph makes a strong visual argument by emphasizing many different contrasts. The pipeline severely contrasts the organic nature of the landscape around it because it appears as a sort of gash that literally cuts and rips through the previously uninjured land. The grey color and geometric rigidity of the pipeline is set against the organic shape and fluid nature of the green land. The machinery and man-made objects on the area cleared for the pipeline stand out against the unblemished surface of the surrounding land. The statement that Evans is ultimately making is a critical remark about man’s imposition on nature and disruption of the landscape. It is possible that she took this image and presented it in an attempt to raise awareness about a specific injustice against the environment that many people either know little about or have a tendency to ignore.
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