{"id":10,"date":"2025-01-30T20:18:40","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T20:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/?page_id=10"},"modified":"2025-03-07T20:54:47","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T20:54:47","slug":"psychological-garden","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/psychological-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychological Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Untitled,<\/a>
Untitled, from Dead Poet (1964)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Fichter was initially inspired to make art by his older sister Jeannette, who trained as an abstract expressionist painter. He studied painting, printmaking, and photography at the University of Florida (1959\u201363), where the teachings of photographer Jerry Uelsmann were especially formative for the artist. Uelsmann encouraged young photographers to seek creative freedom through darkroom experimentation, challenging the medium\u2019s relationship to reality by staging and manipulating images. Fichter received further education in alternative and historical processes under Henry Holmes Smith while pursuing his MFA at the University of Indiana (1963\u201366.) His master\u2019s thesis, \u201cNotes from a Biological and Psychological Garden,\u201d outlined an artistic approach grounded in the physical world but expressive of deep feeling.  <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Self-Portrait<\/a>
Self-Portrait Rayogram (1971)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

A southern gothic sensibility pervades many of Fichter\u2019s early photographs. Cars whizz by a chain gang; figures raise their arms as if taking flight; and shadowy dogs roam the water\u2019s edge. Using prolonged exposures and solarization\u2014a darkroom technique that reverses the tones in a print creating a halo effect\u2014Fichter causes recognizable imagery to blur, resulting in a dizzying or dream-like vision of reality. These formal choices reveal psychological and spiritual dimensions underlying an individual\u2019s perception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Lars<\/a>
Lars Washing Dish by Caloosahatchee (1961)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Untitled,<\/a>
Untitled, from Dead Poet (1964)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Untitled,<\/a>
Untitled, from Dead Poet (1964)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Untitled,<\/a>
Untitled, from Dead Poet (1964)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Untitled,<\/a>
Untitled, from Dead Poet (1964)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Untitled,<\/a>
Untitled, from Dead Poet (1964)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Untitled,<\/a>
Untitled, from Dead Poet (1964)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Untitled,<\/a>
Untitled, from Dead Poet (1964)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Untitled,<\/a>
Untitled, from Dead Poet (1964)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Untitled,<\/a>
Untitled, from Dead Poet (1964)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Untitled,<\/a>
Untitled, from Dead Poet (1964)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Fichter,<\/a>
Steve as Himself Surprised in the Company of Saints (1964)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Untitled,<\/a>
Untitled, from Dead Poet (1964)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Untitled<\/a>
Untitled (1967)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Road<\/a>
Road Gang Beside Highway (1967)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Dogs<\/a>
Dogs in Kennel Run (1967)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Self-Portrait<\/a>
Self-Portrait Rayogram (1971)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Black<\/a>
Black Winged Heart (1972)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Mystery<\/a>
Mystery Gun (1973)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Dogs<\/a>
Dogs on Beach (1973)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Photograph<\/a>
Photograph of a Recent Swimming Party (1965)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fichter was initially inspired to make art by his older sister Jeannette, who trained as an abstract expressionist painter. He studied painting, printmaking, and photography at the University of Florida (1959\u201363), where the teachings of photographer Jerry Uelsmann were especially formative for the artist. Uelsmann encouraged young photographers to seek creative freedom through darkroom experimentation, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10\/revisions\/161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}