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E12 CALENDAR LOSANGELESTIMES 05WB017-HGBA go on get out Find movies, music, dining and more on most-comprehensive, entertainment website. All fun. All free. nd movies, music, dining and more on ou ge ut mp re IRFAN KHAN Los Angeles Times sic eb MUST CLOSE SUNDAY TONIGHT AT 8, AT 2 Photo by Hugo Glendinning. TO-BE-WILD EVAN NEWS TV RADIO And yetthere is nothing sentimental about these pictures.

grand pictorial epics are not what they might seem to be at first glance. Forget heroism; ambivalence abounds. Horror an often forgotten ingredient of the sublime creeps in around the edges. Awesome exaltation is not in the cards. The Canadian photographer, whose work is the subject of an exceptional survey exhibition at the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Balboa Park, is not atavistic.

He remaking for new audiences an established, out-of-date genre of romanticized landscapes. Instead he goes for something more complex and more true. The show presents 48 selections from six series made during the last 20 years. Burtynsky has photographed railroads, mines, stone quarries, industrial dumps (or urban mines, as he calls them), oil fields and the laborious process of dismantling enormous tankers. What these diverse subjects share is a focus on the clash between nature and industry.

If and Watkins chronicled those tensions during the early, more tentative and exploratory decades of the Industrial Age, Burtynsky charts them from a grimmer postindustrial vantage. landscapes are opulent and sensual, and his rigorous attention to planar surfaces and compositional geometry creates a monumental quality. It is matched by the large size of the photographs (many are 40 by 50 inches). The approach can make an open-pit coalmine seem like the Pyramid of the Sun at and the entry to a railroad tunnel in the wilderness of British Columbia recall the ancient Egyptian tomb of Queen Hatsepshut.The rusting hulks of ocean-going tankers runaground on the misty shore in Bangladesh for dismantling are endowed with austere, dignified grandeur not unlike architect Louis celebrated government buildings in Dhaka, the otherwiseim- poverished capital. But the balanced classicism of compositional style is also misleading.

Stability and timelessness do not result. Nor does the comfortable reassurance that comes with them. On the contrary, the power of these photographs derives from an inescapable, understated sense of fragility of nature at the brink of upheaval or ruin. Human intervention in the landscape emerges as a complicated jumble of ingenuity and rapacity. Love alternates with lust.

Often you sense a breaking point being reached. The earliest pictures are of the wilderness terrain in the Canadian Rockies where cliffs and mountainsides have been sheared to accommodate railroad tracks. Each frame is filled with an imposing wall of stone, sometimes dotted with timber. Typically the rich color is all grays, greens, gold and browns, mottled with white. In each, a thin, almost severe line cuts across the bottom quarter of the otherwise dappled image.

Sometimes a train chugs along these tracks an Industrial Age powerhouse rendered puny and toy-like by the imposing context. In one, sheds have been built over the tracks in certain spots to divert landslides. In another, dead trees have tumbled down the face of the mountain. In all of them the railroad track or the train itself seems to cling for dear life to the edge of the flattened earth, while above it the looming mountain is poised to swallow the incursion whole. Human movement skitters horizontally across your field of vision, while heavenly beauty enacts a vertical tug of war with the threat of a hellish ordeal.

The drama is palpable. as if humanity is tiptoeing by, awed by the splendor of the world yet fearful of awakening a slumbering ogre. The series, which marked the beginning of mature work now 50), remains among the finest achievements. It was begun in 1985, and it seems more than coincidental that Adams had died a year before and with him an aesthetic no longer sustainable. Burtynsky was born into a blue-collar family in the town of St.

Catharines, wedged between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie near Niagara Gorge. shown widely in Canada and sporadically in the United States, although never had a solo exhibition in Los Angeles. (His work was included in a 2002 show of recent acquisitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.) The traveling San Diego show, organized by the National Gallery of CanadainOttawaand accompanied by an excellent catalog, effectively serves as a full-bore introduction to Southern California. Before photography Burtyn- sky studied graphic art, and a strong sense of design marks his work. He photographs with a 4- by-5-inch view camera, so the focal plane is shallow and the level of detail is acute (and exquisite).

Given their large size, these works initially have the appearance of abstract paintings. That allusion subtly encourages us to read the photograph as an artistic invention, rather than a transparent document of the world. On the downside, it also makes us aware of a perpetual problem for large-scale photographs, which have become so prominent in the last 20 years. Unlike paintings, photographs do not possess a wide range of surface possibilities. A degree of sameness marks all photographs, as objects if not as images.

Their range of visual tactility is narrow and can become monotonous. The reference to paintings only emphasizes this limitation, which can make a large exhibition feel somewhat repetitive, even when the imagery roams far and wide. But other salutary features also mark carefully considered art. One is the simple fact that the location where the photographer might have been standing in relation to the scene with his tripod, bulky view-camera and other equipment is rarely clear. He and therefore the viewer seems to be hovering in space, out in the void, watching the conflicted scene of humanity-and-nature unfold.

The pictures are casually and cleverly endowed with a sense of omniscience. Whether that aura of all-encompassing wisdom is contained within the natural landscape, the man-made manipulation or some negotiation between the two is difficult to say. But its seductiveness is telling, embedding in a viewer some sense of what motivated the original events whose residue is captured in the photographs. The terrain might be an elegant stone quarry whose streaked walls seem to weep. It might be a meandering river glowing blood-crimsonfrom the runoff of a nickel mine, or a seemingly ancient wall built from den- sified scrap metals, crushed into blocks and stacked.

Whatever the case, Burtynsky shows it to be a place of simultaneous wonder and jeopardy, possibility and peril, attraction and disgust. Ravishing is the word, with its contradictory implications of rape and rapture fully intact. Struggles between mankind and the land are as relentless for one as for the other, and these gorgeous photographs refuse to reduce the complex phenomena to simple, one-dimensional terms. Postcards from the edge Photographs by Edward Burtynsky Museum of Photographic Arts NO. Tankers are broken down and scrapped in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

work has been widely shown in his native Canada, but sporadically in the U.S. OF AGES NO. Burtynsky uses a 4-by-5-inch view camera to capture acute detail, here at a quarry in Barre, Vt. Burtynsky, from Page E1 Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television last week (May 16-22) as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish.

Nielsen estimates there are 277.93 million potential viewers in the U.S. age 2 and older. Viewership is listed in millions. Program Network View- ersProgram Network Viewers 1 Everybody Loves Raymond CBS32.94 2 CSICBS30.73 3 Desperate Housewives (Sun.) ABC30.62 4 American Idol 5 American Idol --------------------------------------------6 Last 7 Two and a Half MenCBS24.24 8 CSI: MiamiCBS22.98 9 AnatomyABC22.22 10 Without a TraceCBS21.42 --------------------------------------------11 ERNBC18.76 12 LostABC18.62 13 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ABC17.80 14 HouseFOX17.68 15 Law Order: SVU (10 p.m.) NBC16.21 --------------------------------------------16 Cold CaseCBS14.60 17 Apprentice 3NBC14.02 18 Law OrderNBC12.41 19 CSI: NYFOX12.30 20 of Country Music CBS11.95 --------------------------------------------21 24FOX11.67 22 StackedFOX11.57 23 CSI 24 CSI: Miami 25 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (7 p.m.) ABC10.59 --------------------------------------------26 60 MinutesCBS9.91 27 Law Order: SVU (9 p.m.) NBC9.71 28 Dateline: NBC 29 Yes, DearCBS9.45 30 The BachelorABC9.27 --------------------------------------------31 Idol: FOX9.09 32 AliasABC8.85 33 Law Order 34 That ShowFOX8.77 35 Law Order: Trial by Jury NBC8.66 --------------------------------------------36 Wars II: Attack of the FOX8.62 37 RevelationsNBC8.15 38 Law Order: Criminal Intent NBC8.00 39 King of QueensCBS7.95 40 Will GraceNBC7.92 --------------------------------------------41 According to JimABC7.85 42 Wonderful World of Disney ABC7.75 43 The O.C.FOX7.63 44 Emmy 45 --------------------------------------------46 Nanny 911FOX7.27 47 48 Phil: Escaping CBS7.14 49 60 Minutes WednesdayCBS6.74 50 Dateline: NBC --------------------------------------------51 George LopezABC6.57 52 48 Hours MysteryCBS6.43 53 Dateline: NBC 54 Law Order: SVU 55 Cops (8:30 p.m.)FOX6.13 56 Next Top Model 4 UPN6.07 57 Blind JusticeABC6.05 58 ContenderNBC5.95 Crimetime SaturdayCBS5.95 60 My Wife and KidsABC5.92 --------------------------------------------61 Most WantedFOX5.91 62 Gilmore GirlsWB5.89 64 Without a Trace 65 Most Outrageous Moments on Live TV NBC5.48 --------------------------------------------66 SmallvilleWB5.47 67 CopsFOX5.44 68 Desperate Housewives 10 p.m.) ABC5.41 69 7th HeavenWB4.91 70 Crossing Jordan (9 p.m.)NBC4.89 --------------------------------------------71 WWE 72 GirlfriendsUPN4.42 EverwoodWB4.42 74 75 One Tree HillWB4.20 --------------------------------------------76 77 Crossing Jordan (8 p.m.)NBC3.86 78 Half and HalfUPN3.85 79 Desperate Housewives 9 p.m.) ABC3.84 80 Reba (9 p.m.)WB3.70 --------------------------------------------81 and Kevin: UPN3.66 82 Charmed (8 p.m.)WB3.44 83 CutsUPN3.40 84 The 85 One on OneUPN3.32 --------------------------------------------86 Kevin HillUPN 3.14 87 Blue Collar TV (8:30 p.m.) WB3.00 88 Reba (9:30 p.m.)WB2.97 89 Blue Collar TVWB2.93 90 --------------------------------------------91 Next Top Model 4 8 p.m.) UPN2.70 92 Steve Big TimeWB2.62 93 Living With FranWB2.56 94 Reba (8:30 p.m.)WB2.54 95 What I Like About YouWB1.94 --------------------------------------------96 Charmed (7 p.m.)WB1.69 Next Top Model 4 9 p.m.) UPN1.69 98 Next Top Model 4 8 p.m.) UPN1.27 Network averages Here is the number of viewers (in millions) that each network averaged per hour of prime time, for last week and for the season. Network Last week Season to date CBS14.0812.94 FOX10.229.90 ABC9.9210.05 NBC8.779.78 WB3.703.35 UPN3.503.36 Prime-Time TV Rankings programming decisions.

Last year, he quietly hired an outside consultant to monitor the political leanings of guests on With Bill to bolster his case. In recent months, Tomlinson has taken a series of steps he has said are intended to expand the appeal, from promoting shows featuring conservative commentators such as Paul Gigotand Tucker Carlson, to establishing a new ombudsman office to evaluate coverage a move that caught PBS officials off-guard. Tomlinson also tapped Mary Catherine Andrews, President former director of the White House Office of Global Communications, as a senior advisor. On Tuesday, Mitchell declined to answer questions about whether she believes Tomlinson, an appointee of President Clinton, is trying to remake PBS according to his political leanings. really feel my place to judge the motivations of she said, adding that facts support the case he referring to polling data.

The PBS president noted that public broadcasting has fielded political pressure since its inception in the late 1960s. just as many years, PBS has stood steadfastly resolved not to give into those pressures, and that resolve is rock-solid she said. Now, Mitchell said, public broadcasting officials should focus their energies on finding new streams of revenue for PBS, which is facing a cut in federal funding next year. cannot afford quite literally to engage in destructive allegations based on personal perceptions clearly not shared by growing number of viewers of she said. ACPB spokesman said Tuesday that Tomlinson had no comment on speech.

But in an interview with The Times earlier this month, Tomlinson rejected claims that the Bush administration is behind his actions and insisted that he does not want to undermine public broadcasting. He said he is seeking to broadenthe reach of PBS because there is a perception among politically sophisticated that the network slants to the left. However, polls have repeatedly found that the majority of Americans view public broadcasting as impartial and balanced. One poll commissioned by CPB in the summer of 2003 found that just of viewers believe PBS has a liberal bias and believe it has a conservative slant. Tomlinson has discounted those findings, citing the drop in viewers over the last decade as a sign of public discontent with PBS.

clearly have problems with public television in that people are voting with their he told The Times earlier this month. But the politicaldebate around public television is unlikely to die down anytime soon. Kenneth A. Konz, the inspector general, is reviewing activities after Democratic Reps. David R.

Obey of Wisconsin and John D. Dingell of Michigan demanded an investigation, suggesting that he may have broken a federal law that limits the role in programming. Moyers, who has received the brunt of criticism, has also spoken out. In a speech to a media reform conference in St. Louis earlier this month, the longtime liberal commentator, who left in December, compared the CPB chairman to Richard Nixon, who tried to cut federal funding for PBS.

Independence and PBS PBS, from Page E1 Susan Walsh Associated Press PAT MITCHELL: The PBS leader Tuesday in Washington. From Associated Press NEW YORK After trying for almost two decades, the Whitney Museum of American Art has cleared a hurdle in its quest to add to its famed Marcel Breuer-designed building on Madison Avenue, winning the approval of the city Landmarks Preservation Commission. The commission voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a revised plan that includes the demolition of one brownstone next to the museum to create an entrance and the construction of anine-story tower just south of the current structure, attached to it by transparent bridges. While the Whitney still has additional city review to undergo, getting the approval was a giant step forward, museum officials said. The plan, by Italian designer Renzo Piano, had originally called for two of the brownstones next to the museum to be torn down for a 32-foot-wide entrance that would feed onto a plaza.

But the commission was concerned, since one of the brownstones is considered a contributing part of the Upper East Side historic district where the museum makes its home. The museum revised the plan so that only one brownstone would be taken down, making the entrance 16 feet wide. Piano compensated by making the plaza space one floor higher. N.Y. landmark panel OKs expansion of Whitney Museum Los Angeles Times.