Uelsmann, Jerry N. Jerry N. Uelsmann. An Aperture Monograph. Photographs by Uelsmann and fables by Russel Edson.

Aperture, 1973.  112 pages, 8.25 x 9.75 inches). Revised enlarged edition of Aperture, Vol. 15, No. 4. Published in conjunction with exhibition at Philadelphia Museum of Art, December 12, 1970–February 7, 1971. Near very good with shelf wear, wraps.  Summary:

Jerry N. Uelsmann: An Aperture Monograph (1970) is a seminal photography book published by Aperture as a special issue (Volume 15, Number 1). The publication serves as a major mid-career retrospective of American photographer Jerry Uelsmann (1934–2022), a pioneer of twentieth-century photomontage.

Rather than relying on traditional essays, the volume pairs Uelsmann’s dreamlike imagery with the surrealist, absurdist "fables" of prose poet Russell Edson, creating a unique dialogue between visual and textual post-modernism.

Key Content and Themes

• Visual Alchemy and Multiple Printing: The monograph showcases Uelsmann’s mastery of "composite photographs." Long before digital editing software existed, Uelsmann used up to a dozen enlargers in a darkroom to seamlessly merge multiple distinct negatives into a single gelatin silver print.

• Surrealist Allegories: The images reject the prevailing mid-century trend of straight, documentary photography in favor of a psychological landscape. Recurring motifs include human hands morphing into tree roots, floating eyes, classical architecture blending into wilderness, and disembodied figures, all arranged to evoke the logic of dreams and the human subconscious.

• The Prose Poetry of Russell Edson: Interspersed throughout the plates are short, dark, and whimsical fables by Russell Edson. These texts do not literally describe or explain Uelsmann’s photos; instead, their eccentric narratives about surreal domestic life and bizarre transformations mirror the psychological tension and dark humor found in the imagery.

• Process and Philosophy: The monograph includes an insightful afterword that details Uelsmann's philosophy of "post-visualization." This concept directly challenged the traditional photographic doctrine of "pre-visualization," arguing that the creative process truly begins in the darkroom rather than ending when the shutter is clicked.

Significance

Jerry N. Uelsmann: An Aperture Monograph is historic for its role in expanding the definition of fine-art photography. By demonstrating that the darkroom could be used as an expressive tool akin to a painter's canvas, this publication helped legitimize altered and fabricated imagery within contemporary art, leaving a profound influence on subsequent generations of conceptual and digital artists.