My concept for Old is New Again was to create a commentary on the way we perceive war in the present day. Many photographs from the civil war features deceased subjects, which is something I wanted to touch on with my project. Photographers may have taken so many photos of people's bodies because it was convenient at the time, but it shows the massive loss that wars bring. Nowadays, there are international wars happening around the globe, and yet we have less of an idea than ever how devastating these wars can be. Gruesome imagery is censored and journalists are silenced. Our first thought about that could be that the government is protecting its citizens from hysteria and the horrors of war, but a deeper look reveals the benefits of keeping the public out of the loop. I feel strongly that the government's idolatry of war aesthetics, mindsets, and morals is leading to normalization, starting the moment we are able to play with toy guns.
To express my thoughts through this project, I created a somewhat civil-war-esque outfit and made a portrait of myself. Rather than holding a rifle like many of the actual soldiers' portraits, I hold a plastic gun. War is only a game while we are young, until we are exposed to the reality of it and forced to cope with and accept war as we are expected to. I place a photo of a soldier and a child in the background to make the imagery of childishness more obvious.
Links:
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cwpb.03792/?co=civwar
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cwpb.04743/?co=civwar
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.67835/?co=civwar
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.11700/
To express my thoughts through this project, I created a somewhat civil-war-esque outfit and made a portrait of myself. Rather than holding a rifle like many of the actual soldiers' portraits, I hold a plastic gun. War is only a game while we are young, until we are exposed to the reality of it and forced to cope with and accept war as we are expected to. I place a photo of a soldier and a child in the background to make the imagery of childishness more obvious.
Links:
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cwpb.03792/?co=civwar
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cwpb.04743/?co=civwar
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.67835/?co=civwar
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.11700/
This piece of work is presented by Ava Shuman. The photo presents a staged portrait that resembles a photograph from the Civil War era. The main figure is positioned almost directly in the center of the composition standing upright and facing the audience. Their clothing is dark , simple and military inspired. The most noticeable details include the object being held which is a plastic toy gun rather than realisitc. Behind the figure is a faded historical landscape that appears cold , distant and empty with additional figures. The photograph uses heavy black borders , stains , scratches , cracks , speckling and areas that look damaged. The imperfections make the photograph look aged and physically worn. The contrast between the historical appearance of the photograph and the plastic gun is what gives the image its meaning. At first glance , the photograph seems to be of the civil war period , but the toy weapon disrupts that illusion. To me , this suggests the artist is questioning how early we have normalized war and violence. Children can be introudced to weapons through toys and games long before they even understand the power of violence and what warfare can mean. I think the concept works especially well because the wet-plate collodion technique is not being used simply as just a filter. It supports the actual subject matter. The pose resembles the kind of position one would need to maintain during the long exposure associated with these types of photographs. The sepia coloring , scratches , spotting , cracks etc help to recreate the characteristics associated with wet plate photographs. The serious facial expression also works because smiling would have weakened the historical illusion. I especially appreciate the contradiction created by the toy gun. Because nearly while everything else attempts to convince us that we are looking into the past, the toy gun becomes more noticeable. The content becomes stronger when considering the artist concept about censorship and how the public experiences modern warfare. Historical photographs sometimes confront viewers directly with the physical consequences of war , including death and destruction , while other audiences experince war through controlled imagery. This photograph focuses on the process that may come before accepting war as normal. One thing that may have made the image stronger would be making the image in the back a little more noticeable. However , I understand keeping it faded adds to the wet plate effect. Overall , I think this is a successful response to the assignment because the wet-plate treatment and the subject matter depend on each other. The plastic toy introduces a contemporary idea and forces the viewer to reconsider what they are viewing. The strongest part of this piece is how something familiar can become uncomfortable once its meaning is understood.
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