jump-o-logic

"when you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping, and the mask falls, so that the real person appears", said philippe halsman.

“there is a sublime silliness to halsman’s images that can make you laugh or at least smile regardless of how often you see them. they may offer incontrovertible proof of schiller’s claim that ‘all art is dedicated to joy.’ evidently the simple act of getting off the ground requires giving in to something like joy. you have to let go.

“one of the purest examples of this joy is an image of halsman himself, holding hands with a smiling marilyn monroe several feet off the ground. facing his partner, he seems ecstatic, as if he cannot believe his luck.”

“audrey hepburn, shot in a hedged garden, goes aloft with legs apart in an enthusiastic cheerleader manner that seems to fit her tightly wound, perfect-girl persona.”

“the most famous of these images, “dalí atomicus,” shows the madcap Dalí aloft, brush and palette in hand. he is flanked by a chair and two easels (holding dalí canvases) — all elevated, and seemingly floating, above the floor, which heightens the sense of suspension.

but the main event is the great curve of water arcing across the image, along with three flying (or flung) cats in damp, disconcerted disarray. for once dalí’s characteristic look of exaggerated surprise makes sense.”

for more information for his project "jump" click here