Background

Judith Rose Dater was born on June 21, 1941 in Los Angeles, California, United States. Her father owned a movie theater, so movies became the prism through which she viewed the world and they had a profound influence on her photography.

Education

Judy Dater attended the University of California at Los Angeles (1959-1962) and completed a bachelor's degree (1963) and a master's degree (1966) at San Francisco State University. It was there she first studied photography with Jack Welpott, whom she later married.

Career

Since 1978 Judy Dater has been self-employed. Previously she taught at the University of California Extension (1966-1975) and at the San Francisco Art Institute (1975-1978). Until 1979 the artist's work consisted mainly of black-and-white photographs. Since then she has started using color negative materials.

Judy Dater now lives in Berkeley, California with her husband Jack B. von Euw. Her career has been long and varied, combining teaching, creating books, traveling abroad and conducting workshops, making prints, videos, and photographing continually.

Achievements

• Judith Rose Dater is best known for her 1974 photograph, Imogen and Twinka at Yosemite, featuring an elderly Imogen Cunningham, one of America's first woman photographers, encountering a nymph in the woods of Yosemite. The nymph is the model Twinka Thiebaud. The photo was published in Life magazine in its 1976 issue about the first 200 years of American women. Her photographs, such as her Self-Portraiture sequence, were also exhibited in the Getty Museum.
  
  Judy Dater was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (1978), an NEA grant (1976).

Works

More photos

• book

  • Only Human: Judy Dater 1964 to 2016 Portraits and Nudes

    (Only Human is a taught and poetic compilation of images t...)

    2017
  • Imogen Cunningham: A portrait by Judy Dater 1979
  • Women and Other Visions 1976

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  • Imogen and Twinka at Yosemite is a 1974 photograph by Judy Dater. It depicts elderly photographer Imogen Cunningham, encountering nude model Twinka Thiebaud behind a tree in Yosemite National Park. It is considered Dater's "most popular" photograph and according to the photographer, was inspired by Thomas Hart Benton's painting Persephone, which portrays a voyeur observing a nude woman reclining against a tree, who had been bathing in a stream.

    (Imogen and Twinka at Yosemite is a 1974 photograph by Jud...)

    1974

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Views

Judy Dater uses photography as an instrument for challenging traditional conceptions of the female body. Her early work paralleled the emergence of the feminist movement and her work became strongly associated with it. At a time when female frontal nudity was considered risqué she pushed the boundaries by taking pictures of the naked female body. However, she did so in a way which did not objectify her subject which was in many cases, herself.

Membership

Judy Dater became part of the community of the west coast school of photography, primarily represented by the photographers Ansel Adams, Brett Weston, Wynn Bullock and Cunningham. They all took an interest in her work and encouraged her to pursue photography as a career.

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• Mark Johnstone, an Idaho resident whom Judy Dater photographed in the early 80’s remarked: "During this time, she never got swayed by or indulged in trends, but moved with her own vision. She’s one of the few successful women in the art world, especially photography, who never depended on ongoing academic support to fuel and expand her artistic exploration."

Connections

Spouse:

Jack Welpott

Spouse:

Jack B. von Euw

Friend:

Imogen Cunningham

In 1964, Judy Dater met the photographer Imogen Cunningham at a workshop focusing on the life and work of Edward Weston at Big Sur Hot Springs, which later became Esalen Institute. She was greatly inspired by Cunningham's life and work. They shared an interest in portraiture and remained friends until Cunningham's death in 1976.

References

• Judy Dater: Twenty Years Gathers portraits, self-portraits, and nudes by the California photographer, and discusses the development of her style.
  1986