Jerry
Uelsmann is a remarkable American fine art photographer. He pioneered the concept of photomontage and
has blended images with such creative mastery that his images can instantly be
recognized as unique masters in his style.
Jerry
Uelsmann was born in Detroit Michigan in 1934.
He gained an interest in photography while attending school around the
age of 14. He went on to persue his
interest earning BA from the Rochester Institute of Technology and also completed MS and MFA
degrees from Indiana University. He
taught photography at the University of Florida in 1960. He had his first solo exhibit at MOMA in
1967. This, he claims, launched his
photographic career.
Jerry’s
images dive into the surreal exhibiting imagery detail far greater than the
imagination. Words from Edgar Allan Poe
come to mind when he contradicted him self saying “Not long ago the writer of these lines,
In the mad pride of
intellectuality,
Maintained “the power of words”-- denied that ever
A thought
arose within the human brain
Beyond the utterance of the human tongue” In a similar respect Jerry’s command of the
photographic process allows us to e3xperience the imagination. His blending of images before the days of
Photoshop are mind-boggling. I have a
difficult time fathoming how the images were created. The juxtaposing of objects command the viewer
to take more than a second look, but a third and fourth, etc. to ensure that
you are actually seeing what you think you are.
While I greatly appreciate his work; have used Photoshop to achieve
similar results, and want to expand my skills in this type of art; I feel that the narrow-mindedness of local
photographic groups would Poo-Poo this type of photography as being more
illustrative rather than ph0otographic.
I hope you the reader has a better appreciation for this fantastic
original work.
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