For Judy Glickman Lauder, the journey to become a photographer and collector began before she could even walk.
As a child, her father often propped her up in front of his large Graflex camera. Irving Bennet Ellis was an influential American Pictorialist photographer which was a movement that sought to elevate photography to fine art.
Lauder met her father’s contemporaries Ansel Adams and Edward Weston and spent many hours in his darkroom.
She went on to become a renowned photographer in her own right and along the way became a passionate collector of the medium.
More than 100 of those images are now on view at Sarasota Art Museum.
WUSF's Cathy Carter spoke with the artist and collector about "Presence," the Photography Collection of Judy Glickman Lauder.
Judy, your collection is really eclectic, but you say there's one thing that ties it all together. That is, you only choose photographs based on how they make you feel.
I'm only interested in both photographing images, but also in collecting images by being really drawn to them; there has to be something about them. So, I think there are a lot of unforgettable images. Some are famous. Some the artist is not as famous. They'll be introduced to different takes on life. There's history and there's quirkiness and there's love. The whole exhibit is entitled "Presence" and it's a human presence and it's a human spirit in all of its various forms.
Well, there's certainly a lot of famous images in this exhibit from the civil rights era...one of a migrant mother, flanked by her two kids, came to define the Great Depression, and there's one of an African American cleaning woman. She has a mop in one hand, a broom in the other. Tell us the story behind this photograph by Gordon Parks.
There was someone who was working in a building where he had a studio, Ella Watson, and she was a cleaning lady, and he took the photograph, which is called American Gothic, which has become really famous. He also followed her and really wanted to know more about her life. So another image in this exhibit is of her at home with her three grandchildren framed in a doorway. Her daughter is framed in a mirror, and there's a photograph of her parents. And you see her life, and you see four generations, and it's just an amazing image.
It really is. Now you're a collector, but you're also a photographer of renown. You shot many photos of Holocaust sites that are very well known. What drew you to this subject?
Being Jewish, I've always been interested in learning more about Jews and history and so on. First time I went to the camps, it was in the 80s; there were still ashes on the ground. It was very memorable, and I kept going back and photographing all in black and white. Always two cameras: one with regular black and white film, and one with infrared black and white film, which kind of portrays a timelessness that shows light that our naked eye cannot see.
So, with these photographs and ones you've collected from the civil rights era, it really seems that you believe photography is a way for us to bear witness.
Totally. And it's so important, especially in today's world, because too much is happening, and it's important that people to see and learn from history.
Well, many of these photos are black and white, but you have recently embraced color. There is something about black and white, though.
There certainly is. First of all, we see so much, and we make so many images. Cell phones are perfect. They're terrific. I have a large family: four children, up to grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I use my cell phone all the time, so I'm always shooting in color. And when I'm actually photographing, I always have two cameras: one black-and-white film, one color digital. Black and white, you're seeing the lights and the darkness. You're seeing the shadows and reflections, and color would distract from that. But color is amazing, and I'm having fun with it.
Presence: The Photography Collection of Judy Glickam Lauder is now on view at Sarasota Art Museum.
