“Magritte’s Touchstone” The robots have taken our jobs! Okay, seriously — Uelsmann did this sort of work using multiple exposures of different negatives in the darkroom. This was the pre-Photoshop days, so this kind of labor actually meant something. It still means something, actually, because instead of erasing blemishes or narrowing waists Uelsmann used his analogue-but-technological skills in the service of a reflection of pain, frustration, and modernity. His subjects are screaming on the inside, just like many of us are. In the 60s there was plenty of confusion and upheaval. But I think his work fits even better today — life feels as disjointed and surreal as it looks in these pictures, and we don’t have the language for it yet. Copyright Jerry Uelsmann

“Magritte’s Touchstone”

The robots have taken our jobs!

Okay, seriously — Uelsmann did this sort of work using multiple exposures of different negatives in the darkroom. This was the pre-Photoshop days, so this kind of labor actually meant something.

It still means something, actually, because instead of erasing blemishes or narrowing waists Uelsmann used his analogue-but-technological skills in the service of a reflection of pain, frustration, and modernity. His subjects are screaming on the inside, just like many of us are. In the 60s there was plenty of confusion and upheaval. But I think his work fits even better today — life feels as disjointed and surreal as it looks in these pictures, and we don’t have the language for it yet.

Copyright Jerry Uelsmann