RIP: Jerry Uelsmann 1934 – 2022
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Dogman
Veteran
Sad. I was never a big fan of his work but I admired his effort and dedication. Another great one, lost to us all.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
Uelsmann was a great photographer, but he wasn't a very nice person.
When I was an art student at Indiana University Fort Wayne, the photography professor was a man named Stephen Perfect. He told us a story of meeting Uelsmann many years earlier. Uelsmann came to Ft. Wayne to give a lecture, and Steve was given the job of babysitting him for the couple days he spent in Ft. Wayne. Uelsmann wanted to go out photographing, and Steve took him to a beautiful tree that he liked to photograph.
This is a photograph that I made of the tree. It looked similar when Uelsmann photographed it, but it was not at tall back then.
Uelsman loved the tree and made several photos of it, and he used the images in a couple of his combined prints. He sent Steve a print of one of the combined images that used the tree. The print had several holes punched in it with a hole punch to ensure that it would be worthless! Steve would never have sold it; he was wealthy and could have bought enough of Uelsmann's prints to fill his house. He couldn't even frame the print and display it. What a f--king jerk!
When I was an art student at Indiana University Fort Wayne, the photography professor was a man named Stephen Perfect. He told us a story of meeting Uelsmann many years earlier. Uelsmann came to Ft. Wayne to give a lecture, and Steve was given the job of babysitting him for the couple days he spent in Ft. Wayne. Uelsmann wanted to go out photographing, and Steve took him to a beautiful tree that he liked to photograph.
This is a photograph that I made of the tree. It looked similar when Uelsmann photographed it, but it was not at tall back then.
Uelsman loved the tree and made several photos of it, and he used the images in a couple of his combined prints. He sent Steve a print of one of the combined images that used the tree. The print had several holes punched in it with a hole punch to ensure that it would be worthless! Steve would never have sold it; he was wealthy and could have bought enough of Uelsmann's prints to fill his house. He couldn't even frame the print and display it. What a f--king jerk!
Canyongazer
Canyongazer
An aspiring college faculty member, I soon realized that without at least an M.A. in photography I had little hope of gaining one of the VERY few positions which open in the USA each year.
Out of the blue I called Uelsmann at the University of Florida for advice. He was busy in his nine enlarger darkroom but gave me a good 30 minutes of his (distracted) time.
He first told me how difficult it would be to get hired but also opined that if I were determined I should at least give it a try.
I did. Two years later I completed graduate school.
Thirty years after that I retired after happily teaching photography at a community college and, later, at a university.
JU's advice was honest, just what I needed.
Out of the blue I called Uelsmann at the University of Florida for advice. He was busy in his nine enlarger darkroom but gave me a good 30 minutes of his (distracted) time.
He first told me how difficult it would be to get hired but also opined that if I were determined I should at least give it a try.
I did. Two years later I completed graduate school.
Thirty years after that I retired after happily teaching photography at a community college and, later, at a university.
JU's advice was honest, just what I needed.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
That was nice of him. I've always wondered why he felt the need to send my professor a print with holes punched in it.
DwF
Well-known
From what I've seen of his work, also an interview and read, he was a very bright man who was indeed an artist. Perhaps along with that in the mix somewhere he became unusually paranoid about people stealing his work. Brilliant artists can certainly be known to be characters. One would think as an act of kindness, he'd just have sent a print (sans punched holes) if nothing else as commemorative of his visit.
lxmike
M2 fan.
Very sad , rest in peace.
Certainly he had a hot streak where he was super popular and then it seemed his work went out of fashion and still is until now. I never was a fan, but I respect his work enough. That said, I prefer the version of the tree above. Nice one Chris.
