This paper discusses the twentieth century American artist Frederick Sommer (1905-1999) and a subject that concerned him throughout his career: the image of the body. From his visceral photographs of the late 1930s to the finely organized anatomical collages of the 1990s, Sommer engaged the image of the body as primary subject matter.
Sommer’s revisioning of the body—earth, animal, and human—characterized his life’s work, informed his most striking imagery, and enabled the realization of his aesthetic achievement. The centrality of the body throughout Sommer’s oeuvre, as primary visual material and organizational metaphor, is the theme of this study.
","abstract_html":"<p>This paper discusses the twentieth century American artist Frederick Sommer (1905-1999) and a subject that concerned him throughout his career: the image of the body. From his visceral photographs of the late 1930s to the finely organized anatomical collages of the 1990s, Sommer engaged the image of the body as primary subject matter.</p> <p>Sommer’s revisioning of the body—earth, animal, and human—characterized his life’s work, informed his most striking imagery, and enabled the realization of his aesthetic achievement. The centrality of the body throughout Sommer’s oeuvre, as primary visual material and organizational metaphor, is the theme of this study.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Baden, Eric"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MFA (Master of Fine Arts)","degree_level":"Thesis - restricted","degree_discipline":"Art","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2003,"date_issued":"2003-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2003-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:19:28Z","subjects":["Aesthetics","Art","Anatomy","Modernism","Photography","Collage","Art and Design","Arts and Humanities"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/838","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Baden, Eric"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["1990-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2003-12-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Art"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - restricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MFA (Master of Fine Arts)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Aesthetics","Art","Anatomy","Modernism","Photography","Collage","Art and Design","Arts and Humanities"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/1995/viewcontent/BadenE120103b.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/838"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This paper discusses the twentieth century American artist Frederick Sommer (1905-1999) and a subject that concerned him throughout his career: the image of the body. From his visceral photographs of the late 1930s to the finely organized anatomical collages of the 1990s, Sommer engaged the image of the body as primary subject matter.
Sommer’s revisioning of the body—earth, animal, and human—characterized his life’s work, informed his most striking imagery, and enabled the realization of his aesthetic achievement. The centrality of the body throughout Sommer’s oeuvre, as primary visual material and organizational metaphor, is the theme of this study.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Image of the Body in the Works of Frederick Sommer."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Baden, Eric"],"dc:date.available":["1990-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2003-12-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This paper discusses the twentieth century American artist Frederick Sommer (1905-1999) and a subject that concerned him throughout his career: the image of the body. From his visceral photographs of the late 1930s to the finely organized anatomical collages of the 1990s, Sommer engaged the image of the body as primary subject matter.
Sommer’s revisioning of the body—earth, animal, and human—characterized his life’s work, informed his most striking imagery, and enabled the realization of his aesthetic achievement. The centrality of the body throughout Sommer’s oeuvre, as primary visual material and organizational metaphor, is the theme of this study.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/1995/viewcontent/BadenE120103b.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/838"],"dc:rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"dc:subject":["Aesthetics","Art","Anatomy","Modernism","Photography","Collage","Art and Design","Arts and Humanities"],"dc:title":["The Image of the Body in the Works of Frederick Sommer."],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Art"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - restricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["MFA (Master of Fine Arts)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:19:28Z"}