Jerry Uelsmann Photograph - July 15th
Description
This is a an untitled photograph by Jerry Uelsmann, informally known as "Nude Floating Above the Ocean." It is an 11" x 14" print. This is a private auction, and bidding will complete on July 15th. The opening bid is $700 and the estimated gallery price is given at $1500-$2000. You can find full auction details here and search for additional Uelsmann listings here.
Brief Bio
Uelsmann is American, born in 1934 in Detroit, MI. He presently lives in Gainesville, FL, retired from a lifetime of teaching, with his wife, Maggie Taylor (also a photographer and artist). He was a "Graduate Research Professor" at the University of Florida, Gainesville, from 1960 until 2004. He supported himself through his teaching salary and through grants (including Guggenheim and NEA awards).
He originally studied photography as an undergrad at RIT, and was part of the first graduating class of the program in 1957. He went on to earn both an MS and MFA from Indiana University in 1960. Minor White and Ralph Hattersley were two of his most influential teachers at RIT. Henry Holmes Smith was his teacher at Indiana.
Uelsmann's work heavily involves image manipulation, and he is renowned for his ability to produce "dream-like" imagery using conventional photographic equipment (his prints date prior to the digital era of Photoshop). Examples of his images can be found here (click on "Enter" and then on any of the "Gallery" buttons on the subsequent pop-up window). These images are produced by using a "negative sandwich" of several photographic negatives and creative use of multiple enlargers.
Despite using only photographic equipment in creating his prints, his efforts were not initially seen as "photography" by the New York galleries. His isolation from mainstream photography may have helped him develop his own unique approaches to the discipline. When he arrived at University of Florida, Gainesville in 1960, he was the Art department's only photographer. His fellow faculty members addressed his work as images rather than "photographs," and were widely supportive. [From a 1997 interview with Paul Karabinis]
Uelsmann's work is in the permanent collection of a large number of art museums. A 1981 report by American Photographer listed him as one of the ten most collected photographers in America. This past month he has had a retrospective of 132 images featured at the Beijing World Art Museum in China. Article details here.
A more complete bio can be found here (click on "Enter" and then on "bio" on the subsequent pop-up window). There's also a pretty good video interview with Uelsmann here (requires Flash; click on "Jerry Uelsmann"). An interesting transcript of conversations with Robert Hirsch between 2001 and 2002 can be found here. A brief interview given in 2006 can be found here.
Books
Uelsmann has published several books of photographs, the earlier ones from University Press of Florida, the later ones from Nazraeli Press. The most recent one, published in 2005, is from Bulfinch.
- Other Realities (2005): A retrospective on Uelsmann's career
- Referencing Art (2004)
- Approaching the Shadow (2000): Another retrospective
- Museum Studies (1999)
- Uelsmann Yosemite: Photographs (1996)
- Jerry Uelsmann: Photo Synthesis (1992): Another retrospective
- Uelsmann: Process and Perception (1985)
Sales
Artprice.com has 138 auction entries listed, dating from 1990 to the present year. Artnet.com has 243 listing records. Gallery prices appear to range from $1500 to $11000 depending on the size & image. Here is a listing for a print from 1969 listed for $4500. Uelsmann continues to print images he created after 1980 (which includes the present image; this particular print was created in 1986, however). Find completed Uelsmann auction listings here (requires log-in, but sign-up is trivial).
