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PFC William Burnett

Artist Ellen Susan (American, born 1961)

Date2007

Mediumambrotype

DimensionsImage: 6 1/8 × 6 inches (15.6 × 15.2 cm)
Case Open: 7 7/8 × 15 13/16 × 1/2 inches (20 × 40.2 × 1.3 cm)
Case Closed: 7 7/8 × 7 7/8 × 1 1/8 inches (20 × 20 × 2.9 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase.

Object number2010.28

On View

Not on view

Copyright© Ellen Susan. The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label Text"This work is a result of my relocation to Savannah, Georgia, which is near two major army installations. I started seeing soldiers in uniform at the grocery store, the gas station, everywhere. I’d never really given soldiers much thought because I rarely encountered them. I began to read in the local newspaper that many members of the local division were being deployed to Iraq for the third time. Looking into the impossibly fresh, young face of the uniformed kid in front of me at Home Depot and connecting that face to what happens in Iraq was a big shift for me in the way I thought about soldiers." –Ellen Susan, 2008 Based in Savannah in the early 2000s, Ellen Susan’s practice is striking for its use of the collodion wet plate photographic process, a medium popular during the years of the Civil War and throughout the late 19th century. Reﬂecting on her choice of this demanding medium, Susan recalls: “The necessarily long exposure of this slow process often results in an intensity of gaze that asks the viewer to look longer, and the grainless, highly detailed surface brings out minute details of each individuals.” This compact work, enclosed in an ornate frame reminiscent of period folding cases, encourages an intimate viewing experience.

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