Jerry Uelsmann RIP

[Andrew O'Neill]

Apologies if this has already been posted. I heard that Jerry Uelsmann passed away today. I always admired his work over the years, and the fact that he kept on making art in the darkroom, not caving in to digital.

 

[StevieB]

Apologies if this has already been posted. I heard that Jerry Uelsmann passed away today. I always admired his work over the years, and the fact that he kept on making art in the darkroom, not caving in to digital.

such sad news, his work will live forever, and I have been touched to have seen it.

 

[BrianShaw]

Oh my. That’s very sad. RIP.

 

[pentaxuser]

Yes his work was amazing and that level of skill takes a lifetime to perfect, I suspect

pentaxuser

 

[Bill Burk]

We were just talking about him and daydreamed of visiting him.

 

[Don_ih]

I recently started paying a lot more attention to his work. His darkroom work was very impressive and his photos show a real imagination. For those who don't know about it, the documentary "This is not Photography" about Uelsmann and his wife Maggie Taylor is available here. In it, he makes some prints and discusses the origin of his style.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I recently started paying a lot more attention to his work. His darkroom work was very impressive and his photos show a real imagination. For those who don't know about it, the documentary "This is not Photography" about Uelsmann and his wife Maggie Taylor is available here. In it, he makes some prints and discusses the origin of his style.

Thank you for posting that, Don. I'll show this to my students.

 

[Louis Nargi]

R.I.P.

 

[Valerie]

So sad! I met him at an opening in Houston years ago. He was surprised to hear that darkroom was still being taught at colleges!

 

[Renato Tonelli]

Sorry to hear this. Always liked his work very much.

 

[winger]

I'm sorry to hear this. I've loved his work since I first saw it.

 

[DWThomas]

This is indeed sad news. I had the chance to see a substantial exhibition of his work at the Michener Museum in Doylestown, Pa a few years back. The exhibit included a video of him working in his darkroom. Besides the obviously creative artistry, the technical quality of the darkroom work, viewed close up, was mind boggling.

 

[juan]

I had a chance to meet him and talk to him about his platinum process about 15-years ago. Nice guy. RIP.

 

[Chrismat]

I attended a lecture he gave in Portland, Maine back in the 90s. Really down to earth, he will be missed.

 

[Roger Thoms]

I'm grateful I had the opportunity to hear Jerry Uelsmann speak, it was very interesting and enjoyable. RIP

Roger

 

[mark]

87 is a good run.

 

[tomkatf]

Oh no... RIP Mr. Uelsmann... A unique vision and a very talented artist. I'm lucky enough to have one of his prints hanging in my house.

 

[Merg Ross]

Indeed. a great loss to the photography community.

Midway through the last century, the term "creative photography" became popular. Jerry's work fit in well. He added a new dimension to the medium, exhibiting what was possible utilizing imagination and skill. He set the bar very high for the generations that followed, doing so in a traditional darkroom. Few have come close to his achievements.

On this sad news, I have given thought to the impact of Jerry's work early in my career --- at least to experiment a bit. In 1961 we participated in a national invitational exhibition in Boston. I was 19, and Jerry was 26. His photographs were unique and inspirational, with prints priced at $15. Minor White was on the selection committee, and Ansel took note. It was refreshing to see Jerry's work embraced by those mired in the tradition of West Coast photography. Years later, he was appointed a trustee of the Friends of Photography organization in Carmel, co-founded by Ansel.

Jerry's contributions live on; unrivaled.

 

[Sean]

Oh dang I used to marvel at his work back in the day. Probably hard to appreciate his work unless you've tried to do similar in the darkroom. I think I tried a few times to emulate some of his tecniques and threw in the towel. R.I.P.

 

[jtk]

Indeed. a great loss to the photography community.

Midway through the last century, the term "creative photography" became popular. Jerry's work fit in well. He added a new dimension to the medium, exhibiting what was possible utilizing imagination and skill. He set the bar very high for the generations that followed, doing so in a traditional darkroom. Few have come close to his achievements.

On this sad news, I have given thought to the impact of Jerry's work early in my career --- at least to experiment a bit. In 1961 we participated in a national invitational exhibition in Boston. I was 19, and Jerry was 26. His photographs were unique and inspirational, with prints priced at $15. Minor White was on the selection committee, and Ansel took note. It was refreshing to see Jerry's work embraced by those mired in the tradition of West Coast photography. Years later, he was appointed a trustee of the Friends of Photography organization in Carmel, co-founded by Ansel.

Jerry's contributions live on; unrivaled.

Today we're used to seeing digital magic but few of us have actually stopped to consider what he had to do to produce his images entirely optically. How many of us have actually used registration pins, for example.