PHOTOGRAPHS
Hallman, Gary L.
U.S. (1940 - )
Studio Series #5
1975
Gelatin silver print
12 11/16 x 18 5/8 in. (32.2 x 47.3 cm) image size;19 7/8 x 23 7/8 in. (50.5 x 60.6 cm) sheet size
Monsen Study Collection of Photography, gift of Joseph and Elaine Monsen
FA 79.88

Gary Hallman’s photographic education in the 1960s was decidedly focused on the documentary and “straight” traditions of photography. Feeling limited by the conventions of these traditions, Hallman started experimenting in the darkroom with unusual enlarging processes, alternative chemicals, and by drawing on or scratching his images. A visual effect that he discovered through his experimentation was flattening the image, erasing the illusion of depth in the photograph, and emphasizing how the image rests on the surface of the paper. The effect is evident in this photograph, part of a series of photographs of his studio for which he scratched the negatives before printing. -- Label copy for Material and Document: Experiments in Photography during the 1970s, November 4, 2011, to February 4, 2012.