1. The life of Jerry Uelsmann
By River Hunt
“Ultimately, my hope is to amaze
myself. The anticipation of
discovering new possibilities
becomes my greatest joy.”-Jerry
Uelsmann
One of Uelsmanns more
famous self portraits.
2. Background Information
• Jerry Uelsmann was born in
Detroit, Michigan on June 11, 1934.
• He became very interested in photography
once he got to high school.
• Once graduating, he went on to the
Rochester institute of technology, where
his instructors showed him that an image
can be transformed.
• Once graduating college, he then married
Marylinn Kamischke.
Uelsmann never used
photoshop in his pictures.
3. What He Is Known For
Jerry Uelsmann is known for
having very mysterious
photographs , and I feel like he
could have strongly influenced
photoshop as well.
4. His College Life
• Once graduating, he
went on to the
Rochester institute of
technology, where his
instructors showed him
that an image can be
transformed.
• Once graduating
college, he then
married Marylinn
Kamischke
5. Who Influenced Him?
• He was influenced by his college professors;
including Bruce Davidson, Pete Turner, and
Carl Chiarenza.
A man with wings, to me it seems like he
symbolizes freedom.
6. Why Was He Important To
Photography?
• He Is known around the world for his creative
photos made by hand printing several
negatives on a single sheet of paper.
Left: in his
photo, called
“ mid-life
metaphor” it
seems like it is
about himself.
It’s a worn
down floating
block
symbolizing
his life.
7. How Did He Change The Art of
Photography?
Uelsmann was very good at designing pictures
to make them seem unreal.
• Almost all of his photographs are in a fictitious
fashion.
Left: His hair
blends well with
the clouds.
8. Some of His Work
Left: in this
picture, he uses
the chairs to make
them look like
they are floating
on the water.
Right: Uelsmann
manages to get
lips on the road.
9. Interesting Pictures
Uelsmanns photo, called
philosopher’s desk, it is his place
to think.
10. Criticism
Jerry Uelsmann uses
other objects to make
things seem
unreal, like the forest
in the rock, and the
woman's face. The
tree in the
background makes
the image look more
balanced and is more
soothing to the eye.
11. Works Cited
Maher, Chris . Jerry Uelsmann Interview .
2007. Web. 12 Mar. 2013
Phil Sandoval. The Mind's Eye, 50 Years of
Photography
by Jerry Uelsmann at the PEM. 28
Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2013
Berman, Larry. Master Interview; Jerry
Uelsmann. 1
Sep. 2007. 10 Mar. 2013
12. THE END
“I think of my
photographs
as being
obviously
symbolic, but
not
symbolically
obvious.”-
Jerry
Uelsmann
Jerry Uelsmanns photo
“Undiscovered self.”