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PEOPLE LIE - FILM DOESN’T
by Chris Faust
the landscape of big oil:RETURNING TO THE BAKKEN
Chris Faust is a photographer from St. Paul, Minnesota. We asked him about his experience in the Bakken Oil Patch region of North Dakota, an area that has seen drastic changes in the recent oil boom. Faust is an artist with a background in science, his perspective is both educational and captivating.
Oil worker explaining how wells work, Roosevelt County, MontanaAll photographs courtesy © the artist
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Tin Man Sculpture, Williston North Dakota
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What is the background on this project?
When last I was up on the Bakken in 2002, it was to make some photos at a very specific original Homestead site for an architectural firm. There were a few oil well sites back then but nothing
like what can be seen now from the earth view in Google Maps. Much has been written about this area in recent years. Photographs by Magnum photographer Alec Soth in the New York Times Magazine tell part of the human story. There have been other documentaries made to record the life of the boom and bust.
I’ve always been able to bear witness to the landscape but have been less inclined to document lifestyle. My particular interest is tied more closely with use of the landscape. In 1990, I embarked on a six-year project to document suburban development in Wisconsin and Washington State. I was compelled to understand and record the evolution of landscapes as a result of development by humans.
Today on the Bakken oil patch, a quick search on Google Earth shows almost thirty wells in a ten-mile square area near Killdeer, ND. That’s nearly one well or more for every farm! Unlike the transforma-tions in suburban landscapes, could these changes be temporary? Given the cost involved to establish a wellhead, one wonders if the equipment will be removed after the wells are dry. Like modern windmill farms with towering arrays of windmills, the oil wells of the recent boom will change the viewsheds and vistas of the prairie. There will also be the dead zones created around each wellhead. Unlike ore extraction on the Iron Range in Minnesota where nature eventually takes over after the mines are shut down, my theory is that these wellhead sites on the Bakken will not fare as well.
PEOPLE LIE - FILM DOESN’T
“My typical approach is this: if it doesn’t have a fence, I’m in.”
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Oil Rig Near Killdeer, North Dakota, 2002
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Man Camp Worker Transport Van, Williston, North Dakota
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What was the inspiration for you to go back to the Bakken this year?
What inspired me was a commission from a collector and patron that had supported previous work for a project on grain elevators in the region. He wanted me to explore the area again and record
my impressions. The work will likely become part of the repository at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota. They are presently amassing quite a bit of artwork from artists in the region document-ing this changing landscape.
Why is the Bakken project important to you?
As far back as 1990 when I first went through the area, my background in Earth Science informed me that the few wells that I saw were pitifully inadequate because of the poor quality of the shale oil. The oil in North Dakota is hard to get out of the ground and requires much more effort to refine. Later, at the University of Minnesota working as a technical photographer, I also worked with chemical engineers that had perfected ways to hydro-fracture “frack” the deposits and ex-tract much more product.
I think we have reached a point in the fossil fuel extraction industry where nature is beginning to thumb its nose at us humans. A geo-engineer told me a long time ago, “nature always wins.” This is what indigenous cultures have always known, that there has to be balance. Modern economies seek a percentage of growth every year. This of course is not in keeping with the natural world where the second law of thermodynamics still rules. Nature will eventually equilibrate. Nature does not care whether I shoot film, or drive a car, or if Putin gets his way, or Ted Cruz becomes the next president.
My biggest concern is whether fracking will pollute the Ogallala Aquifer. That’s where we Mid-westerners get our drinking water. If industry contaminates the aquifer with calcium bromide, potash, and brine water, these changes will last for millennia.
PEOPLE LIE - FILM DOESN’T
“The only time it felt dangerous is when the hydrogen sulfide would flare off. Man, that shit is hot!”
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New Town Home Development, Williston, North Dakota
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Man Camp Near Stanley, North Dakota
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How would you describe your experience traveling in the region in contrast to the trip in 2002?
There is an air of Chaos. The growth of everything has been exponential. The locals both re-sent it and love it at the same time. The feel of the place is very neurotic.
What did you notice about the people? What differences were evident in the cit-ies and towns?
I didn’t have a lot of interaction with the locals on this trip but did interact with a few residents of the Man Camp. There were moments when it felt like the whole region is managed by the characters on The Dukes of Hazzard.
What was it like to stay in a “Man Camp”?
It was very reasonably priced compared to normal accommodations. However, it takes what I would call a “very unusual person” to stay at one of these for months on end without a break.
Since your last trip, there has been frenzied development that increased the level of chaos, construction, and security. How did that affect your experience making photographs?
I like going with a sensible partner on these trips. They provide a counterpoint to my inclinations for full on trespassing, which I still did as usual. I never break-and-enter, but it is still easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Some sites have fencing with signs marking territory for specific and powerful private energy companies. Otherwise, the rest of the well sites are marked with generic signs “no trespassing” or “violators will be violated” etc. My typical approach is this: if it doesn’t have a fence, I’m in.
Did it ever feel unsafe?
The only time it felt dangerous is when the hydrogen sulfide would flare off. Man, that shit is hot!
Any other plans for what you will do with the photographs?
I plan to use the photographs to apply for grants so I can go back and work in the area some more.
PEOPLE LIE - FILM DOESN’T
“A geo-engineer told me a long time ago, “nature always wins.”
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Wells Near Rawson, North Dakota
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Chris Faust is a prolific photographer based in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is best known for his panoramic landscapes. A frequent
theme of Faust’s work is how human beings intersect with nature. His prints are exhibited regularly in galleries around Minnesota and are in the permanent collections of the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Weisman Art Museum, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Faust has been honored with Mc-Knight Foundation and Bush Fellowships and can often be seen working with his custom Fuji G617.
Chris Faust
Bio
chrisfaustphoto.com<
