Doorways of Ominous Portent
In memory of Jerry Uelsmann (June 11, 1934-April 4, 2022), Slate Gray South presents Doorways of Ominous Portent featuring photographic works from Maggie Taylor and Jerry Uelsmann. Formerly married for 25 years until 2016, the contemporary photography duo have a shared affinity for surrealist photomontages.
“I have gradually confused photography with life and as a result of this I believe I am able to work out of myself at an almost precognitive level.”
– Jerry Uelsmann
In the 1950s at Rochester Institute of Technology, photography professor Minor White assigned a project called “Doorways of Ominous Portent.” This very assignment was a turning point in world renowned photographer, Jerry Uelsmann’s artistic career. To Jerry, after scouring the dictionary, “doorways of ominous portent” gave insight into how photographs can function in metaphorical ways beyond what is shown in the image. Methodically dancing from enlarger to enlarger, several negatives exposing a single sheet of silver gelatin paper, Uelsmann found his time in the darkroom to be “a place for discovery, observation, and meditation.” The result – powerful, evocative images that get stuck in the viewer’s mind. Fast-forward to 1996, Adobe guided Jerry through their Photoshop program to make them a promotional poster. Although he recognized the benefits of the tool, that was the extent of Jerry’s time with the digital world; he had developer, stop bath, and fix coursing through his veins.
Enter Maggie Taylor. As the Adobe expert tried to sell Jerry on their program, Maggie saw the potential of how she could utilize their technology for her art. She became enamored by Photoshop and the endless possibilities it opened for her to imagine fantastic new universes. Her camera – a flatbed scanner to capture the fine details of daguerreotypes, taxidermy specimens, flea market finds, vintage toys, live goldfish, natural elements, her pastel drawings, and occasionally a film negative from Jerry. Dozens of scans from Taylor’s treasure trove are layered and digitally stitched together. After several months tinkering, a photomontage is born. She is a surrealist visionary painting playful and provocative visual riddles. Maggie describes her creations as “dreamlike worlds inhabited by everyday objects.”
Jerry transcends surface reality through photo manipulation in the darkroom, while Maggie gives vintage and unusual items new life through modern age technology. Both artists create Doorways of Ominous Portent.