Jerry Ulseman - Untitled 1976
Jerry Uelsmann
Dana Stirling : Editor dana.stirling1@gmail.com Yoav Friedlander : Editor Contributing Photographers Alexander Harding Clara Turchi Jesse Chun Yang Youngliang Shani Halevy Allen Morris Anthony Gerace Jerry N. Uelsmann Fossile Jenny Rafalson
Cover Jerry N. Uelsmann Back Cover Shani Halevy Contact floatzine@gmail.com Facebook All images Published in Float Magazine are the sole property of the featured authors (photographers, contributers and editors) and subject to copy-rights. No image or text may be reproduced, edited, copied or distributed without the express written permission of its legal owner. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, digital or mechanical, printed, edited or distributed without the prior written consent of the publisher. All Rights Reseved.
Float v. float路ed, float路ing, floats Middle English floten, from Old English flotian; see pleu- in Indo-European roots. a. To remain suspended within or on the surface of a fluid without sinking; b. To be suspended in or move through space as if supported by a liquid; c. to put forth (as a proposal) for acceptance; to be lighter than air, and to move slowly through it; to suggest an idea for people to consider to see how they will react;
WHI T E
NOISE
Visible Light / Alexander Harding I n my w o rk, I am co ncerned w i th lig h t , m o re sp ec i fi cal l y l i g ht fro m t he s un. Th e s u n , be in g the cent er o f o ur uni v ers e i s t h e s o u rc e f o r a ll th at l i ves o n o ur pl anet . It kee ps u s in a sp ec i fi c o rbi t , and i t s w av es pro v ide u s w it h ener g y al l o w i ng us t o t hri ve. W h e t h e r it is a ckno w l edg ed o r no t , w e al l ha v e a s t ro n g r ela ti o ns hi p w i t h t he s un. It s l i g h t e n able s o u r visual percept i o n and at t i mes , s h ape s o u r emo t i o ns . A l t ho ug h t he s un affect s h o w w e f e e l, its li g ht remai ns mys t eri o us and eph e m e ral. We ca n feel i t o n o ur s ki n and i n o ur e y e s , bu t it seem s i nt ang i bl e t o us . We can n o t h o ld o r p r es er ve i t .
www.al ex an derh ardi n g art.com
Visible Light Alexander Harding
Retrospective Jerry Uelsmann
Persistency of Death Clara Turchi
On Paper Jesse Chun
The Moonlight Yang Yongliang
The Search Allen Moris
White on White Shanu Halevy
There Must Be More To Life Than This Anthony Gerace
6
70
78
88
100
White Noise 36
54
float magazine - issue no. II
22
Jerry Uelsmann www. uelsmann .net
Journey into Night, 2006 (hands with nest)
The Long Now, 2005
Bless our home and eagle, 1962
About Jerry Uelsmann | by Yoav Friedländer
i mp ossi b le in the sense o f the pro cess
I n a n ag e w e r e the new consta ntl y
a f fects the way we perceive his wo rk.
s e e k s t o r e p l a c e the ol d w e tend
I t i s the talent and sensitivity o f an
to
the
a r ti st that has being capturing o ur
f o u n d a t i o n s o f t he p r esent, a nd f or
i ma gi na ti ons fo r decades. Fo r that fact
t h e f u t u r e . I n s o mew a y w e’v e sta r ted
he a nd his wo rk stand stro ng ag ainst
c o n s i d e r i n g t h e n ew a s the successor
the ti d es o f time.
forget
that
the
p a st
i n w hi ch they are being made ( by ha nd ). I t is no t o ur present time that
lays
o f t h e o l d , a b e t ter v er si on tha t tur ns t h e f o r m e r t o an ob sol ete. The
new
t h at
once
p r omi sed
an
“In art, craft is timeless and tools are always relevant”
al t e r n at i v e t o t h e ol d , w hen i t r ep l a ces
I t i s i nter esting to think that no w, mo re
t h e f o r m e r, i t n a r r ow s the choi ce a nd
tha n ev er, Jerr y U elsmann’s wo rk is
y e t ag a i n l i m i t s w ha t’s p ossi b l e.
p er ha p s the mo st relevant to its time tha n i t has ever been. Fo r a yo ung er
I n a r t , c r af t i s t i mel ess a nd tool s a r e
gener a ti on
al w ay s r e l e v an t . No tool i s b etter tha n
ma ni p ul a tio n and no w searches fo r an
an o t h e r ; r a t h e r a ny tool i s a med i um, a
i nti ma te co nnectio n with pho to g raphy
p o r t al f o r e x p r e s s i on.
Jer r y ’s
that
pro cess
g rew
into
stands
as
dig ital
a
g reat
i nsp i r a ti on. His persistence kept the J e r r y Ue l s m an n i s a ma ster of hi s
w i nd ow open fo r a craft that had been
c r a f t . Fe w a r e t he p eop l e tha t ha v e
v a stl y a b ando ned, o nce in a rush fo r
p r e s i s t an t l y m a i n ta i ned the r el ev a ncy
col or s, a nd ag ain in a rush to make
o f a n al o g p h o t o g r a p hy l i ke Uel sma nn
a ny thi ng po ssible thro ug h dig itizatio n.
d i d a n d s t i l l d o e s . Ti me a nd ti me a ga i n f r o m t h e l a t e 5 0 ’s a nd i nto the new
I f w e’v e l earned o ne impo rtant lesso n
m i l l e n n i u m t h e b o d y of w or k of thi s
is
m a s t e r p r o v e s a p oi nt – a l l tool s a r e
e ve r yth ing.
r e l e v a n t w h e n t h e y ser v e a s the ex tent of their masters. is
not
our
l ongi ng
in
results
m akes
an d
feel
so
We
do esn’ t
canno t
include
match
the
the b y p r oduct o f a craft by mimicking
photography t h at
anythi ng
q ua l i ty a nd the feel that which are i ts
It
tha t
an
a ge hi s
f anta sti c,
a p p earance.
A nd
we
need
to
to o l,
and
its
for
sl ow er
r ememb er
of
i nsta nt
l i mi ta ti ons, are the partners o f the
w or ks
l ook
sur r ea l ,
a nd
a r ti st.
that
the
The Committee, 2002
Home is a Memor y, 1963
Un titled, 1989
Untitled, 1982
Untitled, 1990
The Spirit of Julia, 2001
ESSENTIALLY A LICENSE TO
EXPLORE. J e r r y Ue l sman n | Quote fr om offic ial web si te
“
“
THE CAMERA IS
Untitled, 1976
Persistency of Death / Clara Turchi I ha ve nev er w ant ed t o s ee a dead bo dy. W h e n m y mum’s mo t her di ed I di dn’t w ant t o s ee h e r. I t h appe n e d though that I had t o g i v e her a g l ance. Then, a few y ears l at er, my dad’s m o t h e r die d an d I sa w her arrang ed bo dy i n t he l i t t l e c h ape l o u t s ide t h e hosp ita l. There w ere fl o w ers , I t hi nk, a lo t o f f lo w e rs , I think. I remember t here w ere a l o t o f f lo w e rs o n h e r bu t this is jus t no t po s s i bl e.
www.cl aratu rch i ph o to g raph y.c om
Persistency of Death | by Clara Turchi Her eyes were closed, I know that, but we w e r e l o o k i n g a t e a c h o t h e r. I t w a s n o t c r e e p y, it was just what had always happened. She was so serious. I remember expecting her to stick out her tongue at me at any moment. I was so believing that, that my heart-rate was rushing. Even though my mind rationalised the stupidity of the thought, it could not grasp i t f u l l y. I w a s s o s h a k e n b y t h i s u n r e s o l v a b l e fight that the overall effect was a complete s t i l l n e s s . I w a s l i k e h e r. H a r d a n d b r e a k a b l e . And I remember a feeling of possession: I f e l t a s I w a s i n p o s s e s s o f h e r. B u t I h a v e never possessed her as little as in that moment.
“ A year ago I found a way to love the subjects of my pic tures even more than I do when I photograph them... A year ago I found a way to love the subjects of my pictures even more than I do when I photograph them. I scrape them with a knife. But my way of scraping is really slow and caring: I only remove the first layer of surface off the prints. It is still there, the
image, like a ghostly presence. It is still completely flawless. It still looks and feels flat at the touch. There are yet no answers to any questions. The only way to understand a photographic print as a tridimensional object is to keep o n s c r a p i n g . L a y e r, b y l a y e r, e a c h t i m e o n e step down the illusion of understanding death. Until there is no image, no person, n o l a n d s c a p e , n o s u b j e c t , n o p h o t o g r a p h e r. O n l y, a l w a y s , s t u b b o r n l y p e r s i s t e n t d e a t h .
I scrape them with a knife.� I bottled the thin layer of surface removed from the prints. A n d I t h r e w o n d e a t h t h e m o s t l i v e l y, a l w a y s a n d n e v e r t h e s a m e , o f t h e e l e m e n t s : w a t e r. Like my tears, that always occur when the subject is alive, but never occur in the hallucinatory illusion of possessing death. They are my desires, and are named as such. They melt in time into pure, dense colour; they layer as well, and change, from blue to pink and back. They are alive and immortal.
I n s t al l at i o n p h o t o
Interview Must
pictures,
the virtual, it feels like we are
photographing them, printing, and
(especially printed and one of a
voluntarily and happily entering The
finally scraping them: because of the
kind pictures) as “sacred”.
Matrix, forgetting the materiality
materiality of the process, in those
of our life and becoming, in the
moments it felt like I was having
process,
a second chance to communicate
I
don’t
people
| Q ’ s D a n a S t i r l i ng / A’ s C l a r a T u r c h i
think
everything
can
see
so. be
I
think or
that
become
food
for
politics
and
“sacred” to a person independently
obscure rulers.
to these people (some of them are
from the origin or the uniqueness.
How did you feel when you scraped
dead and some are alive although
It is the famous issue of the aura:
the images?
distant from me). But, at the same
in my opinion it has little to do with
Scraping those images has been
time, it felt like a Frankenstein
r e p r o d u c i b i l i t y.
such
experience!
kind of chance: it is the feeling
What is interesting for me nowadays
It always is, but the pictures of
of possession that I mention in
is that it is not a question anymore
Persistency of Death are all from
the text which accompanies the
about which object is “sacred”,
my family album so the emotions
installation: a fetishistic, unilateral,
but rather if this “sacred” thing is
were flooding. The entire process
complete, and completely useless
a n o b j e c t a t a l l . W i t h t h e w o r l d ’s
has been actually very sentimental,
possession
attention shifting – literally - into
from choosing the pictures, to re-
o f l i f e a n d m o r t a l i t y. A b o d y, a
an
emotional
of
a
body deprived
I n s t a l l at i o n p h o t o
canvas, a surface that is there to
And my father is alive, so scraping
s u r f a c e m e l t s d o w n i n t o c o l o u r,
b e c o n s i g n e d t o i m m o r t a l i t y, o r a t
that picture symbolizes my fear of
and
least to the immortality of the time
his death and at the same time my
these liquids continue layering and
I will be alive.
cowardice: I destroy his picture, in
changing, as they were alive. This
Which picture was the hardest to
a way I am killing him, so that I am
is in contrast with the stillness
destroy?
the one in control of his death, and
of the photograph, so in a way
It was the one of my father on the
c o n s e q u e n t i a l l y h i s i m m o r t a l i t y.
they complete the circle of life
the
amazing
thing
is
that
motor bicycle. This is because of
Could you tell us about the bottle
and death. Within the installation
the verb you used in your question:
installation and what it means to
they also symbolize my tears: the
t o d e s t r o y. I n a w a y I h a v e a l w a y s
you?
entire room has been thought as a
believed that what I do with my
Those bottles of liquids are called
representation of the inside of my
technique of scraping is to rather
Desires: each of them is the desire
brain.
reveal
of the picture it comes from.
How do you see death in your
down I know that it is anyway a
The Desires are the result of the
project?
d e s t r u c t i v e p r o c e s s , o r, a g a i n , a
scraped-off surface bottled with a
Death is a very ambiguous concept
kind of Frankenstein intervention.
s m a l l a m o u n t o f w a t e r. I n t i m e t h e
for me. In abstract terms it is a
than
destroy;
but
deep
positive force, a propeller of new life; it is not a coincidence that French people call the orgasm “la petite mort”, the small death. B u t w h e n i t c o m e s t o i t s p h y s i c a l i t y, t o death in its material manifestations, then it becomes a complete puzzle to me. All I am able to do in front of a dead body is to stare at this hard surface, seemingly fragile, deprived of will and life and for
It was rhe o ne of my father on the motor b icycle. Th is is b ecacuse ot the verb you used in your question: to destroy”
t h i s v e r y r e a s o n u n b r e a k a b l e , f o r, e v e n if you break a corpse, nothing new is revealed: it seems like a finite state. This surface reminds me of the surface
probably
of the photographic print: even if you
B e n j a m i n ’s t h e o r y o f t h e l o s s o f t h e a u r a .
break it, you cannot discover anything
T h e v i e w e r ’s c o n s e n t , a c t i o n o r p o w e r, i s
more. In the pictures from Persistency of
inverted into mere participation (Levinas,
Death the prints keep on feeling flat at
1998). They also affirm the impossibility
the touch despite being heavily scraped.
o f t h e m e m o r y, f o r t o h a v e m e m o r y t h e r e
Why
to
should be life and to be life there should
portray the persistency of death? When
be a future. But there is no future, in both
p h o t o g r a p h y i s u s u a l l y r e l a t e d t o e t e r n i t y.
of them; there is only a congealed co-
The
with
presence of past and present, what is in
p h o t o g r a p h y, t h e m o r e I r e a l i z e t h a t i t i s
front of us and what has been once, for
the meta-language of death.
sure, with no possibility of modification
Other than just talking about death or
anymore.
dead people from an alive perspective,
And still, precisely for this reason, it
phot graphy can actually explain death
d i s c l o s e s t h e d o o r t o i m m o r t a l i t y, a s ,
and its characteristics, as only a dead
if the future of the immortal being was
subject, been born and being living dead,
still possible and so forth uncertain, we
can do.
would not be sure of the reasons of his
Photography and death don’t hide, but
i m m o r t a l i t y.
did
you
more
I
choose
become
photography
involved
they don’t say what they let us see e i t h e r. T h e y a f f i r m t h e u l t i m a t e d i s t a n c e between the viewer and the subject,
negating
once
and
for
all
“ In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real‌
‌than reality “
Alfred Stieglitz (Born 1864) an American photographer and modern art promoter
On Paper / Jesse Chun My ongoing project titled “On Paper” investigates the notion of identity in context of migration and information. In response to my own transcultural experience as a contemporary nomad, I examine bureaucratic documents of identification such as passports and immigration to question the ways in which our identities are constructed and validated between borders. I n P art I o f t hi s pro j ect , I empl o y a me t h o d o f e ras u re to tr a nsfo rm s canned pas s po rt pag es in t o lan ds c ape s . I cr op out t he t rav el er ’s pers o nal dat a an d f ram e t h e p ictor ia l co mpo nent o f t he pas s po rt ’s bac k g ro u n d ima ger y. I s el ect i v el y fo cus o n i mag e s o f n at u re , b eca use nat ure has no bo undari e s o r m an - m ade limita tion s . In do i ng s o , I rev eal t he un iv e rs al ide o lo g y o f f r eed om fo und i n mul t i pl e co unt ri es ’ l an ds c ape s .
www.jessechun.com
(Part II)
On Paper / Jesse Chun
...In Part II, I scan immigration forms and construct haikus with found texts that were initially written to interrogate one’s identity. By deleting and only selectively leaving three lines of text, I create a poetic wordplay that contemplates the traveler’s existence. When bureaucratic documents of travel, relocation and identification are decontextualized from their original functionality and power, what do they become? When their words and images are fragmented and removed, can they still signify a qualification or metaphor for our identity? The ethereal landscapes and haiku poems reveal the complexity of migration: the ideologies, interrogation, displacement and dreams that become a part of who we are.
Fossiles are obtained by digging. They are preserved remains or traces from the past discovered and undiscovered.
{
{
Jenny Rafalson - After my great grandmother passed away, my family started to clean hers room, and we found this photo. The woman at the photo is my grandmother’s great grandmother, her name was Perl Shelkover. The photo was taken probably the photo was taken in the end of 19th century or at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Moonlight / Yang Yongliang Urban development flourishes city lives but also imprisons then; Chinese long-lasting cultural tradition is so profound but it had remained stagnant. Ancient Chinese painted landscapes to praise the great nature, while Yang Yongliang’s works were made to criticize the current reality. The Moonlight unveils night scenes, citing various moon phases. Moon appreciation is a frequent subject in ancient literature to cherish the past of time. Illuminating landscapes under the moon, besides, dramatize the modern life.
www.yan g yo n g l i an g .co m
The Search / Allen Morris I gr ew up i n t he mo unt ai no us P ac if ic N o rt h w e s t r egion o f t he Uni t ed St at es and c o m in g t o t h e f la t a nd o pen pl ai ns has been a m ajo r s h if t in how I unders t and t he l ands cape t h at I in h abit . Neb r as ka l acks t he co nt ai nment o f t h e m o u n t ain s a nd ins t ead o ffers up bo undl es s s t re t c h e s o f s k y tha t ex t end i nt o i nfi ni t y. Duri ng t he c re at io n o f t h is wor k I hav e beco me aw are at j us t h o w im po rt an t the mo unt ai ns I had beco me s o ac c u s t o m e d t o wer e i n no t o nl y my pho t o g raphs , bu t als o m y und ers t andi ng o f my pl ace i n l i fe. Wit h o u t t h o s e constrai nt s I can s ee fo r mi l es i n ev e r y dire c t io n , p a r tic ul arl y fro m t he area I pho t o g raph , an d o n tha t h o ri z o n I s ee no t hi ng . Wi t hi n m y w o rk I am d ocument i ng my s earch fo r an u n de rs t an din g of this l ands cape. The pho t o g raph s dis play t h e a r tif a c t s o f act i o ns and mo t i o ns I t ak e w h e n exp er i enci ng and expl o ri ng t he l and. www.al l en m o rri s ph o to .co m
White on White / Shani Halevy The E s ki mo s have s ev ent een di fferen t w o rds t o s ay somethi ng s o s i mpl e fo r us - Whi t e. Ever y cul t ure has i t ’s o w n cus t o m s ac c o rdin g t o ones bel i v es and t radi t i o ns . I chos e t o t ake t ho s e t radi t i o ns and in t e rpe rt t h e m into my o w n day dreams . I f ind t he co mbi nat i o n bet w een wh it e bride an d white mummy v er y s i mi l ar i t ’s t he e n d an d t h e b eginn i ng o f l i fe.
www.s h an i h al evy.wi x .co m / s h an i -h ale vy- p hoto
91
There Must Be More to Life Than This / Anthony Gerace The c o l l ag es i n There M us t Be M ore t o Lif e T h an This are bui l t fro m s i ng l e s o urces , u s u ally f ro m a d ver t i s i ng fro m t he 1940s -1970s , an d s pe ak at once t o a l o ng i ng fo r co herence a n d c o m ple t io n a nd the i nabi l i t y t o ever t rul y achi ev e it . The wo rk, w hi l e mai nl y po rt rai t -bas e d, n e v e rt h e le s s b ecomes mo re abo ut s urface and t o n alit y t h ro u g h the obs t ruct i o n o f t he s ubj ect , w h ic h allo w s t h e mela ncho l y nat ure o f t he i mag es —all o f pe o ple long s i nce fo rg o t t en—t o co me t o t he f o re f ro n t .
www.a-g erace.co m
#Memorabilia
# Me mo r a b i li a
Roger Fenton, Valley of the Shadow of Death. Ukraine, 1855
/ Roger Fento n Fe nton’s mos t fa mou s photograph i s also one of the mos t we l l-k nown im a g e s of war. Across a d e solate and fe a tu r e le s s l a nd s c a p e , not a si n gle fi gure can be found . T he
l a nd s c a p e
is
inh abite d
on ly
by
can non balls--so
ple ntif u l tha t they f ir s t appe ar to be rocks--th at stand in for the hu m a n c a s u a ltie s on the battle f ie ld . The se n se of e mptine s s a nd u ne ase i s he i ghte ne d by the v i sual u nc e r ta inty c r e a te d by the ch an gi n g scale of the road a nd the s loping s id e s of the rav i ne . Bor r ow ing fr om the Twe nty-th i rd Psalm of the Bi ble , the Va l ley of D e a th was n ame d by Briti sh sold ie rs who c a me u nd e r c ons ta nt she lli n g the re . Fe nton trave le d to the d a ng e r ou s r avine tw ice , and on h i s se cond v i sit he m a d e two ex p os u r e s . Fe nton w rote th at he h ad i nte nd e d to move in c los e r a t the site . But d an ge r force d h i m to r e tr e a t b a c k up the r o ad , whe re he cre ate d th i s i m age . (Text : G et ty Mus eum)
“ ...in c om in g t o a ra v in e c a l led t h e va l ley o f d eat h , t h e s ig h t pa ss ed a l l ima g in at io n : r o u n d s h ot a n d s h e l l la y l ik e a s t r eam at t h e b ot t om o f t h e h o l l o w a l l t h e wa y d o w n , y o u c o u ld n o t wa l k w i t h o u t t r ead in g u po n t h em...�
< < T he Im a g e (a nd m a ny mor e) c a n be d ow n lo a d e d for fr e e a t t he G etty Mu s e u m Ar c h ive > >
<<< Submissions >>> Submit your work to float photo magazine issue no.3
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Diminutiveâ&#x20AC;? Portfolio
One Body of Work 72dpi ,Adobe sRGB, jpeg Image Size- 1000px on the long side (for submission) Artist statement, Project title Personal Website
Fossile
Images that are found footage (Family albums.Flea market ect.) add text - where it was found, who are the people ect. DeadLine : July 25, 2014 Please sent to: floatzine@gmail.com Waiting to see your work e
E d i ted b y Dana Sti rli ng & Yo av Fri e dl 채nde r. Many Th anks to Jerry Uelsm ann & Ma ggie Tayl or.