Caroline Gutman

Photographer

Smithsonian Magazine: The Blue That Enchanted the World

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Location: Washington, DC & Philadelphia, PA

Nationality: American

Biography: Caroline Gutman is a freelance photographer and writer based between Washington, DC and Philadelphia, PA, USA. Her work often looks at gender and economic inequality, climate change, and art and cultural innovation. Her work has been featured by... MORE

Focus: Photographer, Photojournalist, Journalist, Writer, Researcher, Reporter, Politics, Travel, Environment, History, Photo Assistant, Documentary, News, Video, Photography, Domestic, Foreign, Portraiture, Stock, Lifestyle, Conceptual, Culture, Foreign Desk, Arts & Culture, Journalist Investigative, Freelance, Civil Rights and Social Inequality, Humanitarian, Assignments, Commercial, Entrepreneur, Fellow, Consultant, International, Creative Professional, Editorial, Photo Shoots, Editing, Storyteller, Visual Artist, Climate, Digital Journalism, Photo Coordinator, Feature Stories, Environmental Stories, International Stories, National Park stories, Still Photographer, US Politics, Portrait Photography, Reportage

Indigo leaves, salt and indigo ...ndigo workshop at Dogleg Farms.

Indigo leaves, salt and indigo dye stained on a table at the free community indigo workshop at Dogleg Farms.

Portrait Sheena Myers, who is g... American licensed hemp farmer.

Portrait Sheena Myers, who is growing indigo. She is also SC's first African American licensed hemp farmer.

Harvested indigo leaves hanging...on the stalk to make dye later.

Harvested indigo leaves hanging in a storage container at Dogleg Farms. They were experimenting with drying it out on the stalk to make dye later.

Attendees at free community ind...yeing workshop at Dogleg Farms.

Attendees at free community indigo dyeing workshop at Dogleg Farms.

Artist Arianne King Comer works... rice paper at Pluff Mudd Farm.

Artist Arianne King Comer works on indigo batik on rice paper at Pluff Mudd Farm.

House in Charleston.

Historic vat found at Oranto pl...n and relocated to parking lot.

Historic vat found at Oranto plantation and relocated to parking lot.

Vat used to melt wax off finish...'s artist-in-residency.

Vat used to melt wax off finished batik pieces, at Ashley Hall school during Arianne King Comer's artist-in-residency.

Portrait of artist Arianne King Comer.

Wrapped indigo-dyed block-print... local farmers' market.

Wrapped indigo-dyed block-printed clothes, at Kelly Fort's farm, Pluff Mudd Farm. She sells these at the local farmers' market.

Ruins of indigo vat in woods on Johns Island, SC.

Portrait of artist Leah Magar a...d processes indigo at her home.

Portrait of artist Leah Magar at her studio in Charleston, SC. Leah is trained as a milliner and grows and processes indigo at her home.

Fermenting indigo leaves in vat.

Joy Mills carries an indigo pla...n American Farmers Association.

Joy Mills carries an indigo plant after repotting it at her home in Cross, SC. She and her partner Jermaine Euland began growing indigo this year. Jermaine runs the African American Farmers Association.

Drayton Hall, former plantation...le and ruins of slave lodgings.

Drayton Hall, former plantation at which enslaved people grew indigo. Known burial grounds of enslaved people and ruins of slave lodgings.

Caroline Harper, an artist who ...ant to scale indigo production.

Caroline Harper, an artist who recently moved to Charleston, straightens out some of her scarves dyed with indigo. She and her husband are growing indigo on nearby Edisto Island and processing it into dye. They have received a USDA grant to scale indigo production.

Dried indigo dye. This is remin...igo era (pre-Revolutionary War)

Dried indigo dye. This is reminiscent of the indigo bricks shipped to the British Empire at the height of the indigo era (pre-Revolutionary War)

Students at Ashley Hall school ...shop led by Arianne King Comer.

Students at Ashley Hall school experiment with batik wax blocking on indigo during a workshop led by Arianne King Comer.

*NB: Use of this photo requires...h Carolina in the 18th century.

*NB: Use of this photo requires approval from The Charleston Museum.* Eliza Lucas Pinckney's dress. Pinckney is credited with first introducing and cultivating indigo in South Carolina in the 18th century.

Beach path at Sullivan'... indigo vat ruins in the woods.

Beach path at Sullivan's Island. The lyme from oyster shells was used as a mordant in making indigo dye. I found whole oyster shells at the indigo vat ruins in the woods.

*NB: Use of this photo requires approval from The Charleston Museum.* Eliza Lucas Pinckney's shoes. Pinckney is credited with first introducing and cultivating indigo in South Carolina in the 18th century.

Charleston harbor, where slave ...ince been converted into homes.

Charleston harbor, where slave ships would've arrived and indigo would've been shipped. Likely stored in warehouses, some of which have since been converted into homes.

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Thumbnail of Indigo leaves, salt and indigo d_indigo workshop at Dogleg Farms.

Thumbnail of Portrait Sheena Myers, who is gr_n American licensed hemp farmer.

Thumbnail of Harvested indigo leaves hanging _ on the stalk to make dye later.

Thumbnail of Attendees at free community indi_dyeing workshop at Dogleg Farms.

Thumbnail of Artist Arianne King Comer works _n rice paper at Pluff Mudd Farm.

Thumbnail of Historic vat found at Oranto pla_on and relocated to parking lot.

Thumbnail of Vat used to melt wax off finishe_r's artist-in-residency.

Thumbnail of Portrait of artist Arianne King Comer.

Thumbnail of Wrapped indigo-dyed block-printe_e local farmers' market.

Thumbnail of Ruins of indigo vat in woods on Johns Island, SC.

Thumbnail of Portrait of artist Leah Magar at_nd processes indigo at her home.

Thumbnail of Fermenting indigo leaves in vat.

Thumbnail of Joy Mills carries an indigo plan_an American Farmers Association.

Thumbnail of Drayton Hall, former plantation _ple and ruins of slave lodgings.

Thumbnail of Caroline Harper, an artist who r_rant to scale indigo production.

Thumbnail of Dried indigo dye. This is remini_digo era (pre-Revolutionary War)

Thumbnail of Students at Ashley Hall school e_kshop led by Arianne King Comer.

Thumbnail of *NB: Use of this photo requires _th Carolina in the 18th century.

Thumbnail of Beach path at Sullivan's_e indigo vat ruins in the woods.

Thumbnail of Charleston harbor, where slave s_since been converted into homes.

Public Story

Smithsonian Magazine: The Blue That Enchanted the World

Copyright Caroline Gutman 2024

Updated Dec 2022

Location South Carolina

Topics Media

Summary

Indigo is growing again in South Carolina, revived by artisans and farmers with a modern take on a forgotten history

With support from the Pulitzer Center
Text was written by Latria Graham

On Johns Island in South Carolina, tucked along Maybank Highway, not far from where the Stono River meets Pennys Creek, sits a long-obscured piece of history. The remains of a four-chambered brick structure are set among black gum trees, live oaks and scrub brush. At its base, partially covered by moss and bald cypress roots, the tint that enchanted the colonial world is still visible. The ridges of the mortar in between the bricks emit a blue hue, the color of the ocean: indigo, a name that refers to the shrub, the dye the plant produces and the color itself.

This crumbling vat, with squares aligned back to back, was built to process the plant when the demand for indigo dye was at its height. For 50 years, starting in the late 1740s, indigo was a major South Carolina cash crop, second only to rice. At one time, the extracted pigment, dried and shaped into circular cakes, was so prized that it was sometimes called blue gold, and used as currency—even as barter for slaves. After the Revolutionary War, indigo processing fell into obscurity, relegated to the fringes of the agricultural conversation (if it was ever mentioned at all) as a historical oddity.

To continue reading, visit:

The Blue That Enchanted the World
Indigo is growing again in South Carolina, revived by artisans and farmers with a modern take on a forgotten history
Smithsonianmag.com

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Caroline Gutman

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