Cassandra Siana: March 2011

Jerry Uelsmann

Jerry Uelsmann is an American photographer born Detroit, Michigan on June 11, 1934. Uelsmann studied photography throughout college and graduated with a degree at the Rochestoer Institute of Technology in 1957. He then went on to become professor at the University of Florida, the school his son attended as well. He is currently retired from teaching, and lives in Florida still. He is married to Maggie Taylor, who as well is an artist. Jerry Uelsmann has a technique he has been working with for years now. That technique is that he merges a few negative pictures, into one image using different tools from his darkroom and his advanced printing technology. Jerry Uelsmann has said that he has no intention to switching to digital cameras. He prefers film photography, and his special technique he works with. It is more real to him. He has the equipment and tools to create all the effects he needs. Jimmy Uelsmann has work featured all over the world, in multiple museums and he has been featured on different T.V. shows. Uelsmann is featured in museums like the Bibliotheque National in Paris, the Albert Museum in London, and the Chicago Art Institute, just to name a few. Some of the T.V shows his work was featured on were ‘The Outer Limits’ and ‘Train of Thoughts’. He is very well known, and his most famous piece of work is untitled, created in 1996. It’s two hands out, as if they were holding water, and inside the hands is a reflection of a lake, and a boat.

Tomasz Setowski

Tomasz Setowski is an artist, a painter, borin in Kraków-Częstochowa Jurassic Highland Chain in 1961. He studied art history at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Częstochowa Pedagogical University. Setowski said he often enjoyed working with fictional subjects because it gave him a more wide range of variety. Tomasz works in both surrealism, and symbolism when completely new art projects. He often travels the world to attend different events at different museums, his favorite museums are those in Poland, France and Germany. He himself has been in over 60 different Museums

Artist’s Name - Jerry Uelsmann

Title of Artwork - Untitled

Date of Work - 1996

Description: Two hands out as if they were to be holding water really holding a landscape of a boat on some type of body of water with the sky and a solid black blackground.

Analysis: The piece is very well exposed, and it isn't too dark, nor too light. I'd say it is fairly symmetrical, except for the few details like the picture of the boat. It is very well balanced, and It has very succesful.

Interpretation: I am undecided about the actual meaning of this pictuer, I believe there is two meanings of this picture. One possible meaning is holding the world in your hands. Another possible meaning of this picture could be to symbolize the bodies of water. Using body parts to symbolize the actual shape of it.

Judgment: I really enjoy this picture because of the meaning I believe it holds. This picture is very successful and I believe it is to the perfect brightness it could be.

Artist’s Name - Tomek Sętowski
Title of Artwork - A Touch of The Muse

Date of Work - Unknown

Description: In this painting there is a man and a woman both wearing very bizzare outfits. The woman in a dress made of a city, or town, of some sort. And the man is wearing a gown type thing made of an ocean.

Analysis: I think this painting is well balanced since for both people the bottom corners are cut off. I like the very dull colors used so things don't stand out too much since there is a lot going on in the painting.

Interpretation: I think the meaning of this picture is to symbolize what Tomek goes through while creating art. He may use some type of model (symbolized by the girl in this painting) and he shows her exactly how to pose and act, which is why he's touching her face. The extra arm may symbolize how he doesn't have enough hands to make things happen quick enough.

Judgment: Although Tomek's work is very animated and is very difficult to tell the meaning of his work, I really do like this picture. I enjoy it because in almost all of his paintings that feature a female, she is in some type of dress which has a town of some sort. I also like how it evens out with the man wearing the dress of the water which to me, is symbolized for being masculine. I really enjoy the colors, and the idea portraited in this picture.

These two artist work with two completely different medians, and two different subjects in both of their pieces. Jerry works with film, and he looks for a more natural appeal. He used a lot of natural materials in his piece. Examples being the hands, the body of water, and the solid background color. Tomek on the other hand works with a very fantasy-like subject. Creating characters, and outfits to make a surreal piece of art. They both work with two completely different subjects matter as well. Something they have in common with both of their pieces is they both are not realistic. I believe that Jerry's subject of his piece was a lot easier to read than Tomek's piece but they both were still very hard to understand.