The Nude in the Landscape workshop was held in 1974 and Judy Dater was an instructor. Cunningham was a guest lecturer and there were about 100 people (students) present. When the workshop was getting disorganized, Dater, Cunningham, and model Twinka Thiebaud stepped away and Dater captured the photo. It is important to know that the mentor and mentee came together to make "live" art on the spot. It shows how creative and "outside the box" the artists were. While the original intention was to teach the students about lighting and certain posing techniques, the photograph became more monumental than that. Dater was inspired by other artists such as Thomas Hart Benton and Cunningham herself to have the nude watched and met by the clothed. Dater also mentioned the connection between the two artists when they looked at each other, which she described in an interview as, “the recognition of youth and old age looking at each other, about what will be and what has been.” I interpreted this as Tinka looks at Imogen and sees what is inevitable: she will age; Imogen looks at Twinka and admires her youth, something she once had. Without this event, the image obviously would have never been taken, but also the students and later viewers would not be able to analyze, draw conclusions, research, etc. the photograph.
Getty.edu. Imogen and Twinka at Yosemite. https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/109C5J?tab=exhibitions
Accessed 02.04.2023