Jerry N. Uelsmann (American, born 1934) Untitled (Flying Figure), 1987 Gelatin silver printTampa Museum of Art. Museum Purchase in honor of Benjamin E. Norbom, President of the Board, 1988-1989 1989.37
With tools such as Adobe Photo Shop, it is becoming increasingly difficult to know if a photographic image is factual, enhanced, or totally contrived. Despite the prevalence of these computer programs, Jerry Uelsmann creates his surreal photographs entirely in the darkroom, masking and exposing different areas of photosensitive paper as he changes negatives. The seams and edges of each successive negative are concealed, and the resulting composite suggests the unity of a singular view or scene. The metaphoric and symbolic force of Uelsmann’s photographs derive from the juxtapositions and forms depicted in the images.