For my concept, I wanted to reflect on how history and culture are tied together, along with my personal connection to culture itself. So I wanted to abstractly relate that to the history of being an Asian first coming to America. Many early Chinese immigrants in the mid-1800s came to work in the gold mines and agricultures jobs to support their families back home and escape poverty. However, at the time they were facing various pressures and ethnic discrimination leading to isolation and loneliness, in a completely new and unfamiliar place. So in this piece, I had a younger version of myself wearing a traditional Chinese qipao, isolated from other subjects in the shot, looking different and out of place based on the style of the people in the background to replicate those feelings. Which in a way, connects a small portion of Asian history in America to my personal identity of growing up as Asian American. As this out-of-place feeling is something that can be recognized through many people over time. Additionally, I integrated images from the Library of Congress through the background and the black borders on the image.
The work by Jennie Keophaphone shows a little girl holding an umbrella, she is wearing traditional clothing related to Asian culture. She is standing in an area that looks similar to a park with not many trees near her. The background consists of little trees as well as a stone fence and walkway with people on it. She put a crack along the image as well as some splotches to make the image appear older. She also changed the color of the image to give it a more grungy look making it look more like a wet plate.
ReplyDeleteThe work is about immigrants coming to America and the feelings that come with being an immigrant in America. The little girl is away from the people in the image to showcase the loneliness that discrimination can make someone feel as an immigrant. She is supposed to look different and out of place to replicate these feelings further. The girls' clothing is completely different from the other people in the image which helps push this concept to the viewer. I do not think the cracks, texture and scratches are necessarily metaphorical.
I think the technique Jennie used definitely makes the work look like a wet plate, however I do think that the little girl looks a little too clear in comparison to the rest of the image. You can kind of tell that she was not originally in the photo because of this. The cracks and splotch marks on the image make it look like a wet plate but I do think more texture could be added to make the image look more like a wet plate. I think even some fingerprints could have made the image stand out a lot more. I also like the fact that the background is really plain but I think more people could be added to the background to emphasize the fact that the outfits are different. When I first glanced at it I did not know that there even were people in the background. I also think that maybe a little more stuff going on in the background could help push the fact that the little girl truly is alone. If there are all these other things going on in the background it could kind of show that there is all this stuff going on that she is not a part of.
In conclusion I really like the image and the concept. It was very interesting to look at and grew the viewer in. I think that the techniques Jennie used allow the image to look like a real wet plate but it could be pushed a little more. I think the concept was very successful but could be emphasized in certain areas to really push the idea to the viewers.