Things That Go Bump in the Night
Maker
Klug, Les
American, 1930-1988
Date1979
MediumGelatin silver print
Dimensionsframe: 19 in x 21 in; image: 12 1/4 in x 14 1/2 in
Credit LineGift of the family of Esther Parada: Adam Wilson, son; Susan Peters, sister; Margo Davion, sister; Ben Glaser, brother
Object number2006:346
About the ArtistLes Klug used photography in unconventional ways to shape new views of reality or to explore conceptual problems. Initially, he used analog processes such as solarization and double exposures to manipulate the visual content in his black and white photographs. Through these techniques he created imaginative compositions, often combining multiple images that play with one's sense of reality and create various visual illusions. In the mid-1980s, prior to his death in 1988, Les Klug was among the early artists to experiment with digital technology to shape photographic imagery. Les Klug attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he majored in chemical engineering, before putting his studies on hold during a tour in the army. After returning to Madison, he began a job managing the darkroom at the University of Wisconsin Union and eventually dropped out of school. He was also hired by the university's Department of Education to construct a slide library, and during this period, he began to use the darkroom facilities regularly and spend time around the students and faculty of the Department of Art. In the early 1970s, he moved to Chicago, where he devoted himself fully to photography and began teaching at Northeastern Illinois University. A substantial body of Klug's work is held in the Wisconsin Artists Collection at Carroll University.
