Jerry Uelsmann

At 89 years old, Jerry Uelsmann physical status not available right now. We will update Jerry Uelsmann's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Uelsmann was recruited in 1960 by Van Deren Coke to teach at the University of Florida (Gainesville), one of the few universities offering photography as a concentration for fine arts majors. He taught at UF until his retirement in 1998.

The first twenty years of his career (1960-1980) involved widespread success with numerous honors in education, writings, and exhibitions.

In 1962, he was one of the founders of the Society of Photographic Education (SPE) which held annual meetings where educators, students and historians could share their ideas and images about photography's relationship to themselves and the world.

Uelsmann delivered his first influential paper, “The Interrelationship of Image and Technique," at the SPE initial conference (1962 in Rochester, NY). His second paper, “Post-Visualization,” was presented in 1964 at the SPE in Chicago, IL. Some details on post-visualization and his technique of composite printing can be found below in Additional Notes and in his book Process and Perception.

He had a career breakthrough in 1967 with a solo exhibition of photomontages at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. John Swarkowski was the director.

Also, in 1967 he won a Guggenheim Fellowship for “Experiments in Multiple Printing Techniques in Photography”. With the grant, he worked on various techniques of printing and experimented with subtle colors from toners such as blues and browns.

In 1968 he returned to the Museum of Modern Art to be included in “Photography as Printmaking”, directed by Peter C. Bunnelll. The exhibition increased awareness of innovative contemporary photography as a worthy addition to realistic photography.

Beginning in 1968 and continuing for decades, he scheduled extensive workshops throughout the nation for demonstrations, lectures, and hands-on practice to small groups of students.  The first year of workshops included Rhode Island School of Design, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Iowa, The Art Institute of Chicago, San Francisco Museum of Art, Purdue University, Ohio University, Addison Gallery of American Art, George Eastman House, The Friends of Photography (Carmel, CA), University of St. Thomas, and Wheaton College.

In 1972, he won a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 1978 Uelsmann was included in "Mirrors and Windows: American Photography since 1960" directed by John Szarkowski at the Museum of Modern Art, NY. The show reflected on two theories of contemporary photographers. One theory was about self-expression (mirror of oneself) and the second one involved observations outside of oneself with an emphasis on objectivity. There were a few artists who crossed over between these two theories. The exhibition and book were influential and stimulated much discussion pro and con.

In 1981, Jerry Uelsmann was named one of the top ten most collected photographers by American Photographer magazine.

Uelsmann was inducted (1970) as a fellow by the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain (London) and invited to deliver the fourth Bertram Cox Memorial Lecture in early 1971. His paper was entitled, “Some Humanistic Considerations of Photography”, most of which is archived online. Using specific examples, he explained his process of post-visualization (trying different combinations of negatives). Prior to his sessions in the darkroom, he would study hundreds of negatives using contact sheets (proof sheets). The final print could take hours or days to resolve, but the journey was always magical according to Uelsmann. Trial and error were essential steps.

He expressed gratitude for what photography revealed about himself and his fellow human beings. A persistent theme was about the never ending mysteries of life.

Beginning in the mid-1960s Uelsmann preferred the title, Untitled, for most of his photographs to invite various interpretations.

He described his persona as “an unapologetic romantic” who loves working in the darkroom.

Other parts of his lecture contained humor for which Uelsmann  was noted. He joked about negative sandwiches and the random decision of using a leaf of lettuce saying he finally had a negative sandwich that was edible.

Another joke was about falling in a mud hole while on a shooting trip. When he got home, he finished the roll of film by taking photos of his muddy body (self-timer and tripod) while in the bathtub.  Although he did not like the print, he sent it to John Szarkowski at the Museum of Modern Art (NY) with a letter written on the back. The surprise was that Szarkowski used the photo for a press release (calendar about exhibitions). Uelsmann, a gifted speaker, gave a memorable lecture combining humor with seriousness.

Mid- to late-career

During his last four decades (1980 to 2022), Uelsmann regularly exhibited while publishing over twenty-five books about his work.

A few of those achievements are summarized below.

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