Jerry UelsmannUntitled II 19801980
1980
About the Item
- Creator:Jerry Uelsmann (1934, American)
- Creation Year:1980
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: G140206115995
Jerry Uelsmann
Jerry N. Uelsmann is an American photographer, and was the forerunner of photomontage in the 20th century in America.
Uelsmann was born in Detroit, Michigan. While attending public schools, at the age of fourteen, there sparked an interest in photography. He believed that through photography he could exist outside of himself, to live in a world captured through the lens. Despite poor grades, he managed to land a few jobs, primarily photographs of models.
Eventually Uelsmann went on to earn a BA from the Rochester Institute of Technology and M.S. and M.F.A. degrees from Indiana University. He began teaching photography at the University of Florida in 1960. In 1967, Uelsmann had his first solo exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, which opened doors for his photography career.
Uelsmann is a master printer, producing composite photographs with multiple negatives and extensive darkroom work. He uses up to a dozen enlargers at a time to produce his final images, and has a large archive of negatives that he has shot over the years. The negatives that Uelsmann uses are known to reappear within his work, acting as a focal point in one work, and background as another. Similar in technique to Oscar Rejlander, Uelsmann is a champion of the idea that the final image need not be tied to a single negative, but may be composed of many.
During the mid-twentieth century, when photography was still being defined, Uelsmann didn't care about the boundaries given by the Photo Secessionists or other realists at the time, he simply wished to share with the viewer the images from his imagination and saw photomontage as the means by which to do so. Unlike Rejlander, though, he does not seek to create narratives, but rather "allegorical Surrealist imagery of the unfathomable."
Uelsmann is able to subsist on grants and teaching salary, rather than commercial work. Today, with the advent of digital cameras and Photoshop, photographers are able to create a work somewhat resembling Uelsmann's in less than a day; however, at the time Uelsmann was considered to have almost "magical skill" with his completely analog tools. At the time Uelsmann's work first came to popular attention, photos were still widely regarded as unfalsifiable documentary evidence of events. However, Uelsmann, along with Lucas Samaras, was considered an avant garde shatterer of this popular mindset and help to expand the artistic boundaries of photography.
“I am sympathetic to the current digital revolution and excited by the visual options created by the computer. However, I feel my creative process remains intrinsically linked to the alchemy of the darkroom,” Uelsmann has said.
Today Uelsmann is retired from teaching and currently lives in Gainesville, Florida with his third wife, Maggie Taylor. But to this day, he still produces photos, sometimes creating more than a hundred in a single year. Out of these images, he likes to sit back and select the ten he likes the most, which is not an easy process.
Find original Jerry Uelsmann photography on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Billowing Clouds over Bay BridgeBy Roman LorancLocated in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CASigned on front of mount. Titled, dated and numbered on back of mount. Edition of 100 (this image has been sold out for quite some time through artist and only available on the secon...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Death Valley (Clouds)By Edward WestonLocated in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CASigned and dated on the front of the mount. Titled ‘Death Valley’ with negative code on the back of mount. Negative cod DV-39C-9G. Edward Weston was the first photographer ever to wi...Category
1930s Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Untitled, Barn and Telephone PolesBy Edward WestonLocated in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CAInitialed and dated on front of mount.Category
20th Century Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Del Monte Forest 1956By Wynn BullockLocated in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CASigned on the front of the mount.Category
20th Century Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Night Scene 1956By Wynn BullockLocated in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CASigned on the front of the mount.Materials
Silver Gelatin
- Afternoon, Tasman SeaBy Chip HooperLocated in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CASigned, dated and editioned. Signed, titled, editioned and dated on back of mount on artist copyright stamp. Available in 20 x 24, 26 x 32 and 44 1/2 x 56 inches (largest size includ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- The Tundra Valley Extended Between Tolbachik and Kamen Volcanoes, Russia, 2006By Sebastião SalgadoLocated in London, GBThe Tundra Valley Extended Between Tolbachik and Kamen Volcanoes, Russia, 2006 Sebastião Salgado Stamped with photographer's copyright blind stamp Signed, inscribed on reverse Silver...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- The Roraima Tepui, Venezuela, 2006 - Sebastião Salgado (Black and White)By Sebastião SalgadoLocated in London, GBInternational Shipping Available The Roraima Tepui, Venezuela, 2006 Sebastião Salgado Stamped with photographer’s copyright blind stamp Signed, inscribed on reverse Undertaking pro...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers, Arizona, USA, 2010By Sebastião SalgadoLocated in London, GBConfluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers, Arizona, USA, 2010 Sebastião Salgado Stamped with photographer's copyright blind stamp Signed, inscribed on reverse Silver gela...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Sea Lions at Puerto Egas in James Bay, Santiago Island, Galapagos, Ecuador, 2004By Sebastião SalgadoLocated in London, GBSea Lions at Puerto Egas in James Bay, Santiago Island, Galapagos, Ecuador, 2004 Sebastião Salgado Stamped with photographer's copyright blind stamp Signed, inscribed on reverse Silv...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Bridgehampton, New York, 1982 - Elliott Erwitt (Black and White Photography)By Elliott ErwittLocated in London, GBBridgehampton, New York, 1982 - Elliott Erwitt (Black and White Photography) Signed, inscribed with title and dated on accompanying artist’s label Silver gelatin print, printed later...Category
1980s Landscape Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Kussharo Lake Tree, Study no 9, Kotan, Hokkaido, Japan, 2009 - Michael KennaBy Michael KennaLocated in London, GBKussharo Lake Tree, Study no 9, Kotan, Hokkaido, Japan, 2009 - Michael Kenna Signed, dated, inscribed with title and stamped with photographer’s copyright ink stamp on reverse Sepi...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin