Renowned American photographer Jerry Uelsmann was the leader in the concept of photomontage. For more than 50 years, he has produced captivating works where various elements are perfectly blended together into surreal compositions. With an innovative imagination, Uelsmann began creating these flawless combinations prior to the availability of any digital technology.
He uses multiple negatives and traditional darkroom techniques to produce a single photograph. Each piece takes a lot of planning and many hours to set up. He first arranges each negative in a separate enlarger to determine where the elements will fall on the paper as well as the proper exposure for each section of the print. Once everything is in place, Uelsmann simply moves his paper from one developer to the next, exposing the paper to light and producing the final combination of elements.
“[Photomontage] is my way of connecting with the world and I like the idea that I can invent a reality that, for me, is personally more meaningful than the one that's literally given to the eye.”
