The Ice Serpent
date: label: date made
content: before 1937
name: label: maker
content: Fassbender, Adolf
notes: label: Description
content: From <i>Pictorial Artistry: The Dramatization of the Beautiful in Photography</i>
label: Description
content: "This striking and fantastic semblance, etched in the ice by the slanting beams of the late afternoon sun, lasted but a few minutes… just long enough for me to recover from the excitement of my discovery and intense admiration of its dramatic beauty to take the picture. How my imagination responded! I visioned the icy spectacle as the glittering trail left by a monstrous sea serpent that had just slithered away from behind the great rock in the foreground to plunge into the depths of the sparkling water beyond, leaving behind, the glitter of a thousand shining scales on the frosted surface. And to think… this all happened on a lake in Central Park, New York City.
label: Description
content: Composition:
label: Description
content: S-curve. Although the graceful lines and fine gradations of tone tend toward the lyrical, I feel the composition is basically dramatic. The dominating mass of snow-covered rock in the foreground is the source from which the S-curve springs, making the latter of secondary importance in the dramatic sense. The fantastic mystery of the interpreted analogy intensifies the interest, and the great sweep of line to the far distance and woodland gives a feeling of vastness… of space unlimited… a world such as my imaginary super-reptile could move in with ease and comfort.
label: Description
content: Technical Problems:
label: Description
content: Happening on the scene as suddenly as I did, permitted little time for speculation; it meant rapid thinking and action. Shutter speed, film, filter factors, stops, etc., had to be adjusted while I concentrated on what I saw and felt. My split-personality method worked quite successfully. The great contrast of light called for over-exposure, with careful reduction later in the darkroom to bring out the desired balance. The foreground was considerably toned down and the sparkle of the S-curve greatly emphasized to bring out the splendor and drama of its beauty. Since only one exposure was possible at the time, I had to be right. This reliability and coordination of experience and knowledge proves the worth of the care, the time, and the trouble taken by the serious pictorialist to achieve perfection in his work.
label: Description
content: Data:
label: Description
content: Camera: Ihagee, 4x6cm
label: Description
content: Lens: Tessar
label: Description
content: Stop: f.16
label: Description
content: Filter: Medium Yellow
label: Description
content: Exposure: 1/5 on tripod
label: Description
content: Plate: Illingworth Lightning
label: Description
content: Print: Tuma Gas (blue-toned)"
label: Description
content: by Adolf Fassbender, 1937
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Photographic History
label: See more items in
content: Adolf Fassbender, Pictorial Artistry
label: See more items in
content: Photography
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PG.004116.28
label: catalog number
content: 4116.28
label: accession number
content: 146001
objectType: label: Object Name
content: photograph
label: Object Name
content: photogravure
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: image: 11 in x 8 7/8 in; 27.94 cm x 22.5425 cm