Jerry Uelsmann

Jerry Norman Uelsmann (June 11, 1934 – April 4, 2022) was an American photographer.

As an emerging artist in the 1960s, Jerry Uelsmann received international recognition for surreal, enigmatic photographs (photomontages) made with his unique method of composite printing and his dedication to revealing the deepest emotions of the human condition. Over the next six decades, his contributions to contemporary photography were firmly established with important exhibitions, prestigious awards and numerous publications. Going against the established practice of previsualization (Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and others), he coined a new term, post-visualization. He decided the contents of the final print after rather than before pressing the shutter button. By the 1980s he became one of the most collected photographers in America.

Early life and education Uelsmann, a native of Detroit, Michigan, credited his parents Norman (a grocer,1904-1962) and Florence (Crossman) Uelsmann (a homemaker, 1903–1986) for encouraging his creativity. Uelsmann's father, whose hobby was photography, built a basement darkroom to share with his two sons, Jerry and Robert. Uelsmann appreciated White's mystical philosophy and devotion to Zen-like meditation even when not photographing.

Ralph Hattersley had theories like those of Minor White especially concerning self-discovery about which he published a text. Uelsmann recalled the demanding yet meaningful assignments given by Hattersley that caused him to see ordinary objects differently and personally.

Uelsmann delivered his first influential paper, “The Interrelationship of Image and Technique," at the SPE initial conference (1962 in Rochester, NY). His second paper, “Post-Visualization,” was presented in 1964 at the SPE in Chicago, IL. Some details on post-visualization and his technique of composite printing can be found below in Additional Notes and in his book Process and Perception. The exhibition increased awareness of innovative contemporary photography as a worthy addition to realistic photography. The show reflected on two theories of contemporary photographers. One theory was about self-expression (mirror of oneself) and the second one involved observations outside of oneself with an emphasis on objectivity. There were a few artists who crossed over between these two theories. The exhibition and book were influential and stimulated much discussion pro and con.

In 1981, Jerry Uelsmann was named one of the top ten most collected photographers by American Photographer magazine. One reviewer, Larry Thall, commented on Uelsmann's long-standing popularity and importance. During 2006-2007, he and Maggie Taylor, a noted digital photographer, produced several two-person exhibitions in the United States, Korea, China, and Italy. In 2011-2012 he was featured in a retrospective exhibition, “The Mind’s Eye, 50 Years of Photography by Jerry Uelsmann”. The show premiered at the Harn Museum of Art in Gainesville, FL in 2011. It traveled to the Peabody Essex Museum of Art, Salem, MA and the James A. Michener Museum, Doylestown, PA. In 2018, he had a solo exhibition in Baton Rouge, LA at the Louisiana State University Museum of Art. The show's title, "Confluence", referred to the flowing nature of Uelsmann's conversations (in 2018) with the scholar, Moa Petersén, especially in reference to love and loss. In 2020 Uelsmann gave what may have been his last interview. It was recorded from his darkroom via Zoom video conferencing software and was hosted by Russell Brown, an associate of Adobe Corporation. Uelsmann was a firm believer that the final image need not be tied to a single negative.

Partial chronologies on Uelsmann can be found in these two references. there were others who argued that his work was interesting but too manipulated to be photography. The students were impressed with his work ethic. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Bloomington, IN. 185 photographs by Uelsmann. Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, FL. 153 photographs by Uelsmann Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL. 69 photographs by Uelsmann Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ. 24 photographs by Uelsmann Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY. 26 photographs by Uelsmann. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. 3 photographs by Uelsmann. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. 5 photographs by Uelsmann, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL. 33 photographs by Uelsmann. Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA. 8 photographs by Uelsmann. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA. 11 photographs by Uelsmann. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. 21 photographs by Uelsmann. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England. 2 photographs by Uelsmann. Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan. 7 photographs by Uelsmann. The Museum of Photography, Seoul, Korea. 1 photograph shown in highlights of collection. Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. 8 photographs by Uelsmann. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. 6 photographs by Uelsmann. National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK. 1 photograph by Uelsmann. North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC. 7 photographs by Uelsmann. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO. 12 photographs by Uelsmann. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 24 photographs by Uelsmann. Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX. 12 photographs by Uelsmann. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX. 24 photographs by Uelsmann. Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI. 2 photographs by Uelsmann. Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, FL. 5 photographs by Uelsmann. National Gallery of Australia, Parkes ACT, Australia. 12 photographs by Uelsmann. Philadelphia Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA. 218 photographs by Uelsmann.

Publications Eight Photographs. Portfolio, introduction by William E. Parker. Doubleday, Garden City (NY) 1970. OCLC 104831 (no ISBN). Jerry N. Uelsmann (=Aperture Monograph, volume 15, number 4). Introduction by Peter C. Bunnell, fables by Russell Edson, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Aperture, New York 1970 (reprints in 1971 and 1973). ISBN 0-912334-15-0. Silver Meditations. Introduction by Peter C. Bunnell. Morgan & Morgan, Dobbs Ferry (NY) 1975. ISBN 0-87100-087-3. Jerry Uelsmann: Photographs from 1975-79. Edited by Steven Klindt. Columbia College, Chicago (IL) 1980. OCLC 63388176. Twenty-five Years: A Retrospective. Edited by James Enyeart. New York Graphic Society, New York 1982. ISBN 0-8212-1519-1. Process and Perception. Photographs and Commentary. Essay by John Ames. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, 1985 (2nd printing 1988). ISBN 0-8130-0830-1. The Criticism of Photography as Art: The Photographs of Jerry Uelsmann. Text by John L. Ward. University of Florida Press, Gainesville 1988. ISBN 0-8130-0303-2. Uelsmann – Yosemite, University of Florida Press, Gainesville (FL) 1996. ISBN 81-301-4441-7. Jerry Uelsmann: Photo Synthesis. Foreword by A. D. Coleman. University of Florida Press, Gainesville (FL) 1996. ISBN 0-8130-1160-8. Museum Studies. Text by Peter C. Bunnell. Nazraeli Press, Tucson (AZ) 1999. ISBN 3-923922-72-8 (1000 copies in plexiglass box on black panel, signed). Approaching the Shadow. Text by Bill Jay. Nazraeli, Tucson 2000. ISBN 3-923922-79-5 (2000, signed). Referencing Art. Texts by Alexander Alberro and Nora M. Alter. Nazraeli, Tucson 2003. ISBN 1-59005-061-4 (2000, signed). Other Realities. Texts by Paul Karabanis and Peter Bunnell. Bulfinch, Boston (MA) and London (UK), 2005. ISBN 0-8212-5742-0. Meditation Navigation: Jerry Uelsmann 1961–2006. Marsilio, Venice (Italy) 2007. ISBN 978-8-83179243-1. Maggie and Jerry. The Works of Jerry Uelsmann and Maggie Taylor. Texts by Maggie Taylor and Phillip Prodger. The Museum of Photography, Seoul, Korea, 2007. OCLC 297155764 (no ISBN, in English and Korean, signed by both). Xiang Xiang De Shi Kong: Jieli Yousiman hui gui – Imaginary Space: Jerry Uelsmann Retrospective. Zhong Hua Shi Ji Tan Shi Jie Yi Shu Guan. Zhongguo She Ying Chu Ban She (Chinese Photographic Publishing House), Beijing (China) 2007. ISBN 978-7-80236-087-7 (in Chinese and English). Just Suppose: Photographs by Jerry Uelsmann and Maggie Taylor, University of Florida Press, Gainesville (FL) 2007. OCLC 503296934 (no ISBN, oblong, spiralbound). Whispers of Blended Shadows: The Art of Jerry Uelsmann, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei (Taiwan) 2008. ISBN 978-986-01-5538-9. Prima Facie: The Photography of Jerry Uelsmann. Text by A. D. Coleman. See+Gallery, Beijing (China) 2008. ISBN 978-988-17876-7-5. The Mind's Eye: Photographs by Jerry Uelsmann. Introduction by A.D. Coleman, text by Phillip Prodger. Modern Books, San Francisco (CA) 2010. ISBN 978-0-9801044-4-8 (100 copies, signed). Dances with Negatives. Text by Ted Orland. Center for Photographic Art, Carmel (CA) 2011. OCLC 779852844. Synchronistic Moments, PaciArte Contemporary, Albissola Marina Vanilla Ed., Brescia (Italy) 2011. ISBN 978-88-6057-115-1. Moth and Bonelight. Poetry by Steven Brown. 21st Editions, South Dennis (MA) 2011. OCLC 708253990 (handmade book). Uelsmann Untitled: A Retrospective. Introduction by Carol McCusker. University of Florida Press, Gainesville (FL) 2014. ISBN 978-0-8130-4949-6.