A single man balancing eleven gentlemen on this shoulders? The Dirigible docked on the Empire State Building?
Believe it or not there was a time before photoshop when photographers and artist alike had to think outside the screen to visually alter an image. The result? Prints made from altered negatives that produced bizarre yet visually lifelike photos.
(Left) ‘dirigible docked on empire state building, new york’ unknown artist 1930 (Right) ‘american school man on rooftop with eleven men in formation on his shoulders’ unknown artist,1930
(Left) Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec as Artist and Model by Maurice Guibert, (French, 1856-1913) (Right) ’sueño no. 1: ‘articulos eléctricos para el hogar” or ‘dream no. 1: ‘electrical appliances for the home” by Grete stern,( Argetinian 1904-1999)
(Left) Thanksgiving Table by Richard C. Miller (American, 1912-2010) (Right) Io + Gatto by Wanda Wulz (Italian, 1903-1984)
Sealed Power Piston Rings by John Paul Pennebaker (American, 1903-1953)
Beginning this month The Metropolitan Museum of Art will exhibit a display of 200 manipulated photographs aptly called “Faking it”. The primary focus of the exhibition is on the post darkroom stages of piecing together a photographic melody of negatives to create seamless photographs, like the ones seen above.
The ‘Faking It’ exhibition is open now through January 2013. For more information on the exhibition including times and dates check out the museum’s website.
Which of the negative montages do you find most visually stimulating?
