The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Palmetto Gnome

c. 1948–1950

Val Telberg

(American, 1910–1995)

America, 20th century

gelatin silver print, solarized photogram and multiple negatives

Image: 27.8 x 22.8 cm (10 15/16 x 9 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1989.402

Location: not on view

Description

Influenced by Surrealism, Val Telberg specialized in dreamlike images in which the combination of separate negatives transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary. For Palmette Gnome he used several darkroom manipulations, including sandwiched negatives, photogram, and solarization. Thus, a woman's face is printed on the dark outline of a hand, while palm leaves suggest her hair and shoulders.

E. H. T. "The Year in Review: Selections 1989." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 2 (1990): 38-78. p. 69, no. 62 25160106
Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 356
Tannenbaum, Barbara. “Beyond Truth: The camera may never lie but the photographer might.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol.59, no. 1 (January/February 2019): 8-9. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 8.
Beyond Truth: Photography after the Shutter. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 10-May 26, 2019).
Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 24, 1996-February 2, 1997).
The Year in Review for 1989. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 6-April 15, 1990).
{{cite web|title=Palmetto Gnome|url=false|author=Val Telberg|year=c. 1948–1950|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.402