Before modern, computerized techniques in image manipulation, Philippe Halsman shot this photograph of Salvador Dali suspended in mid-air. While today this image could easily be replicated in Photoshop, it wasn’t possible in 1948. Taking 28 attempts, it was over four hours before Halsman was satisfied with the photo. According to Brandon Luhring:

Halsman set up his New York studio and using the 4 x 5 format, twin-lens reflex camera that he had designed in 1947, he prepared to capture one of his most memorable photographs. He suspended an easel, two paintings by Dali (one of which was “Leda Atomica”), and a stepping stool; had his wife, Yvonne, hold a chair in the air; on the count of three, his assistants threw three cats and a bucket of water into the air; and on the count of four, Dali jumped and Halsman snapped the picture. While his assistants mopped the floor and consoled the cats, Halsman went to the darkroom, developed the film, and reemerged to do it again. “Six hours and twenty-eight throws later, the result satisfied my striving for perfection,” wrote Halsman.

The photograph is spectacular. However, there are still a few things that bother me about the “authenticity” of the image. For example, the shadow of the canvas seems not to be exactly as one would expect. Even so, this is art at its finest.

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Archie Techne is no Jughead.
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