Focus on this artwork and explain the Background.
Dater had been familiar with Benton's 1938–39 Persephone painting and its theme of voyeurism since her childhood, and it inspired her to attempt several earlier photos based on that theme. She has said that it "really worked" with this particular photo, because "it's a twist, given that it's two women looking at each other."At the time the photograph was taken, Cunningham was 90 years old and had been a famous photographer for 60 years. Dater had been a friend and admirer for the previous ten years, and considered Cunningham her mentor. The nude model, Twinka Thiebaud, was the daughter of painter Wayne Thiebaud. Dater had earlier photographed Twinka fully clothed, in 1970.
The photograph was taken as part of a workshop called "The Nude in the Landscape", organized by Ansel Adams, that had about 100 students. Dater was one of the instructors, and Cunningham was a guest lecturer. According to Twinka Thiebaud, the event started out in an undisciplined way. The clueless students swarmed around the nude models, and they "pounced like paparazzi", and were "unruly and disorganized". Dater, Cunningham and Thiebaud stepped away from the crowd, and approached the tree. There, as many of the students gathered around her, Dater demonstrated how to work with a model. This photograph was the result.
Ansel Adams Wayne Thiebaud Persephone Twinka Thiebaud voyeurism