Jerry Uelsmann is one of that select group of artists who can be said to have altered the very language of their discipline. Through the use of the composite print, this brilliant technician has invented a unique poetic universe that has extended the definition of what is photographic. In a retrospective study of Uelsmann's work, author James Enyeart explores the roots and development of the photographer's imagery, aesthetic attitudes, formal structure, and stylistic directions--displaying the "parts," as he describes it, to share with the reader something of the nonverbal whole. All things are possible in the world of mystery, fantasy, and humor presented here. Drawing from our familiar environment, Uelsmann creates multiple imagery in the darkroom, using as many as seven enlargers to produce the image he wants on a single piece of paper. The resulting print is of such seamless precision that it seems to be the simple record of a complex dream. These photographic metaphors defy verbal expression, yet they invite our attempts to describe them. Uelsmann himself is a thoughtful and eloquent commentator on his own work, and the text is illuminated with extensive quotations from the photographer's notes, letters, and articles. --jacket.
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