Thursday, September 5, 2024

Old Is New Again - Emily Buie

Kiawah Island is a private island in South Carolina filled with luxurious mansions, golf courses and beautiful beaches. The photo of the stairs in the back was taken at a 5-star hotel called The Sanctuary which is supposed to represent the island's historical southern hospitality vibe. After visiting the island a couple of times, I started to question how the island came to be this grand and wealthy. With this wet-plate I am revealing a truth behind the island that is ignored. Like many know, there were Native American people’s already settled in this land before Europeans came over and moved them out/ claimed the land. This island happened to go through that and was even named after the Kiawah tribe, which is why I used a photo from the Library of congress of a Native female and what seems to be an english/ American man. As of many years ago there are no Natives left on the island, giving this photo a sense of irony. To get the full wet plate effect I added multiple layers of filters, adjusted the camera raw settings, added blur and grain, brush splatters, a glass crack, and a wet ink frame. The Library of Congress is where I found the frame and glass crack, however I used a mask on them to add to the grungy, old and damaged look. 



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2 comments:

  1. Sara ASeptember 10, 2024 at 9:41 AM

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  2. Sara ASeptember 10, 2024 at 9:44 AM



    The person I will be critiquing is Emily Buie’s work. Firstly looking at this piece the environment gives off a sense of history and wealth. As seen with the animated gif the original image of the staircase is very unique in a home that looks like a mansion of sorts. The subjects are a man and a woman. From observing their outfits and demeanor they seem to be historical. The man is wearing a suit and dress pants with slicked back hair giving off the impression of 1940s English or American man. The woman in the work may be from the origins of Native America with her holding a fur coat. The texture of the overall piece is very sporadic and adds to the overall feel of a weathered and historical piece.
    I think the work represents Native American individuals as well as having a meaning of irony with the elements this designer chose to use. I did not know about Kiawah Island before, but with learning about it and going into further research, I think the piece really reflects the idea of the luxurious private island merging with the sense of irony to show the history of what is not being seen by others. Revealing a truth behind the island and incorporating the aspect of a Native female with the juxtaposition of an American male really hones in the main message of the piece and the irony of them being in this environment.
    The technique used to create the Wet-Plate Collodion process is evident with the use of sporadic textures, cracks from glass plates, brush splatters, and depth of field. The added frame adds the idea of wet ink and enhances the overall piece to make the piece feel more damaged and old. Adding filters and adjusting the image to focus more on the overall space of the environment to lead your eyes to the main figures within was a good technique utilized.
    Overall, this piece utilizes the concept of Wet-Plate Collodion very well. The overall concept and message may seem hard to recognize at first, but with looking at it longer and really immersing yourself you can piece together some details. The sense of irony and the utilization of the images made the piece have more meaning and showed an interest in the Kiawah tribe and Island. The use of textures and images make this piece feel complete and make it seem as this image is very old.

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