A Philosopher’s Desk by Jerry Uelsmann
In the forward of the beautiful Jerry Uelsmann’s book, Photo Synthesis, A.D. Coleman explains the difference between photocollages and photomontages.
Neither of these terms should be used as an umbrella to cover what are two radically different forms of photographic image making. They are far from synonymous.
Photocollage
The French word collage means “gluing”; the craft process is that of pasting varied materials together. Photocollage, then, involves the cutting up and reassembling of parts of photographic prints or reproductions of photographs. In itself, this does not require any photographic activity. Because many forms of such imagery can be generated without the use of a camera or a darkroom, it has attracted not only photographers but visual artists from outside of the parameters of photography.
This moving photocollage is by conceptual artist Barbara Kruger: www.barbarakruger.com
Photomontage
Montage means “assemble/putting together” in French.
Strictly speaking, photomontage is the superimpositon of one image on another, this can be achieved in such a way that both are simultaneously present and visible, that is they show through each other or so that the added images appear integral to the depicted scene.
Accomplishing this requires photographic methods. One of these is “double” or multiple exposure done while the negative is still in the camera. Montages can be executed in a darkroom, as with multiple printing (exposing the printing paper to part or all of several negatives in succession) and combination printing, or the “sandwiching” of the negatives simultaneously) These are the techniques in which Uelsmann has specialized. In such cases, both the image components and the techniques involved are purely photographic in nature.
Most of Uelsmann’s work is Untitled.
Jerry Uelsmann My Favorite Photographer: http://www.uelsmann.net/
