Jerry Uelsmann Claire Swierczek Brock Dykema Riley Sparks Stuff - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Jerry Uelsmann

Claire Swierczek Brock Dykema Riley Sparks

Stuff about Jerry

• Received his BFA at the Rochester Institute in 1957
• Taught photography for over 15 years
• University of Florida in Gainesville
• His work is related to that of Henry Peach Robinson

and Oscar Rejlander.

• They used similar darkroom effects in

Uelsmann’s work.

• First solo museum exhibition at the Museum of

Modern Art in 1967.

• That same year he received a Guggenheim

Fellowship.

• Awarded with a National Endowment in 1972.
• Main Style: Darkroom Composite Photography

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Uelsmann and Surrealism

❖ Surrealism images contain things that could never be real, but only made up in one’s mind ❖ Uelsmann combined this with photography playing off of previous artists from the 30’s and 40’s to create surrealist images ❖ His images were looked down upon by current photographers who believed in all of the things leading up to actually taking the picture and not editing it afterward ❖ Uelsmann believed that images can take on “post visualization” and the image can change even after it is taken. ❖ The combination of darkroom photography and surrealism made Uelsmann’s work unique and monumental in his time before Photoshop and software

• f the like

Uelsmann’s Medium

❖ Uelsmann’s work was on the medium of gelatin silver print ❖ Gelatin silver print has three layers ➢ Paper ■ Used as a base ➢ Baryta ■ Used to separate the paper and the image and is made

• f barium sulfate

➢ Gelatin ■ Chemicals that form the image and can be used to change the tone. ❖ Uelsmann used this to create the look of masks laying a foundation for digital art to come in the future.

Darkroom Composite Photography

• A style that

incorporates different pieces of photographs together into one complete project

• Uses masking and

exposure of different areas of photosensitive paper with changing negatives

• Entirely analog

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I’ve spent so much time in the darkroom that it’s a part of me. The darkroom to this day—even though the computer world has emerged—has an alchemy aspect for me. It’s magical watching an image come up in the developer.

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Meditation Mystery

The captured light that is shown within the clouds give a sense of hope and wonder to the

• photo. Then, the ladder

peering out of the water gives it a sense of angst and fear.

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Apocalypse II

The appearance of a large “virus” infecting the sky leaves a sense of unease in the viewer. The seeming reality of this image is what makes this photo uncomfortable.

Small Woods Where I Met Myself

It can be clear to see that this image, with this specific title, is a story of personal

• declare. The person

is not able to see their own reflection, which could be a real life similarity to Jerry’s life.

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There is some uncertainty as to what the flying

• bject is the image.

Depending on one’s perspective, the photo could be a simple shot of a blurry bird, or an unsettling body floating lifeless-like in mid-air.

Untitled

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Stone Meditation

Floating Tree

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Philistine's Eye

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Path of Self Discovery

Full Dome

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Photograph of the famous Half dome but Uelsmann reflected the photo to create a surreal look

• f the cliff being a full

semicircle.

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Uelsmann took an

• rdinary picture of a

wall and board and through the use of masks and differing light he was able to reveal part of a mans face inside the square

• f wood creating a very

interpretive and symbolistic piece.

Restricted Man

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Uelsmann puts a standard room in the middle of the forest to create a dreamlike image

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Uelsmann makes a normal room look like is apart of a lake in this piece, directly reflecting his surrealism ideas

THANKS!

Any questions?

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Works Cited

Aitken, Alexander. "Darkroom Techniques: Combination Printing by Alexander Aitken". Filmed 2011. Youtube video, 4:30. Posted [May 2011]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LPEqTVeg-Y Irving Penn. Gelatin Silver Prints. Art Institute Chicago. 2013. http://archive.artic.edu/irvingpennarchives/gelatin/. (Accessed February 3, 2019). “Jerry Uelsmann Facts.” biography.yourdictionary..com. https://biography.yourdictionary.com/jerry-uelsmann (Accessed January 31, 2019). "Jerry Uelsmann." Artsy. https://www.artsy.net/artist/jerry-uelsmann. (Accessed February 1, 2019). Scheinbaum & Russek. “Jerry Uelsmann.” photographydealers.com. http://www.photographydealers.com/artists/jerry-uelsmann/ (Accessed February 1, 2019). Szarkowski, John. Wall Label. 1967. https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_press-release_326497.pdf (accessed February 3, 2019). Uelsmann, Jerry. “Selected Works.” Uelsmann.net. http://www.uelsmann.net/works.php (accessed January 30, 2019). "Uelsmann, Jerry N." Museum of Contemporary Photography. http://www.mocp.org/detail.php?type=related&kv=7799&t=people.