Under the Influence Analysis - Dominique Rodriguez

Jerry Uelsmann

The subjects in my chosen photos by Jerry Uelsmann for this analysis have places, objects, figures, nudes, rocks, fields, skies, clouds, etc. Subjects in Jerry Uelsmann's works vary in terms of person, object, and location. For example, in images two and three, the subjects are objects; for images one and four, the subject is the presence of a person; for image five, it is the environment. Some formal elements in his work are line, space, and texture. The usage of vertical and horizontal lines in his composites creates a sense of stability within his images, and some curved lines create a sense of softness and lead the viewer's eye throughout the photograph. As for space in the second image I chose, he uses space as a break for the viewer's eye to rest and to hold tension with just the rock in the center floating. As for the other images, he creates a three-dimensional space within the images that includes the foreground, the middle, and the background.

The aesthetic elements in his compositions are the black-and-white tones, a variation of deep contrast, and still seeing details in the shadows. The compositions he creates are dream-like and surreal. Although some images look seamless, they appear so real that people can't tell they are composite; some look like they are composite—his repetition of hands, trees, rocks, water, and human figures. But Jerry Uelsmann doesn't use Photoshop. He does all of his composing in the dark room. He uses multiple enlargers with different photos and prints on black and white paper. Once the images in the enlargers are lined up properly, he can create as many as he wants. In a way, it is a production method for printing multiple photos. Uelsmann doesn’t use Photoshop or digital software; he does it all in a dark room where he develops photos from film. I believe him creating these in the darkroom makes sense because the appearance of his images is entirely different from making them digital and printing them out on a printer. Uelsmann's work is difficult to define. His pictures are frequently described as dreamlike or surreal. His work is similar to listening to music and experiencing sentiments and emotions, therefore, looking at his photographs immerses you in feeling. New ideas emerge as a result of his darkroom experiments. 

I would like to use the same process as Jerry Uelsmann, who creates composites in the darkroom from film negatives. From there, I would like to scan the composites and hand-color them in Photoshop. This would be a nice break from digital work this semester, and I want to create work in the darkroom. It has been a minute since I’ve developed prints in the darkroom, but I'm excited to try this out. However, I have a backup plan: scanning in film negatives only, compositing them digitally in Photoshop, and then doing watercolor or paint on top of the print. I think the most significant part of this project for me would be adding some mixed media or having some hands-on part.