DALE YUDELMAN

Dale Yudelman’s career in photography has led him through two eras of South African history as well as across several continents. Born in Johannesburg, he began photographing at a young age under the tutelage of his father and was barely out of his teens in 1979 when he landed a job as staff photographer at South Africa’s largest daily newspaper The Star. This was a time of intense social and political turmoil and Yudelman worked simultaneously on press photography for The Star and his own personal body of work “Suburbs in Paradise,” Taken in and around the suburbs of Johannesburg between 1979 and 1985, this series communicates the reality of life in South Africa under Apartheid with a poetic, metaphorical vision quite distinct from reportage.

Yudelman’s compassionate and imaginative honesty speaks truths about South African culture that is still relevant to an understanding of the culture today. In 1986 Yudelman left South Africa, working as a freelance photographer first in London and later in Los Angeles. He returned to the newly democratic South Africa in 1996 and currently lives in Cape Town. For the past five years he has been working collaboratively with painter Arlene Amaler-Raviv, creating multi-media images addressing a wide range of social issues - their most recent work ‘Live Stock’ was exhibited at the 8th Havana Biennale, Cuba and Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Oslo, Norway. Yudelman’s photographs from his ongoing series ‘Reality Bytes’ have been featured in numerous shows in South Africa, Europe and the USA.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

Keski-Suomen Museo/Museum of Central Finland, Jyvaskyia, Finland, Lumo 07 - 'us', 2007

Pentax Gallery, Johannesburg , People, Places, Memories and Faces, 1979.

Europe, World Press Pictures of the Year, 1984.

Market Gallery, Johannesburg, Transformation, 1984.

Shell Gallery, Cape Town, Transformation, 1985.

Baxter Theatre, Cape Town, End Conscription Campaign, 1986.

Museum of Cultural History, UCLA, Los Angeles, South Africa, 1987.

L.A. Photoworks, Santa Monica, California, Suburbs in Paradise, 1988.

Art Center College of Design, California, South Africa In Black And White, 1989.

Brooks Institute of Photography, Santa Barbara, California, Suburbs in Paradise, 1990.

Black Gallery, Los Angeles, No Surrender No Retreat, 1990.

LAPA Gallery Santa Monica, California, Holga, 1995.

Area Gallery, Cape Town, Absolute Africa, 1998.

Jo’burg Gallery, Cape Town, Suburbs in Paradise, 1999.

South African National Gallery, Cape Town, Lines of Sight, 1999.

Scan Shop, Cape Town, Images, Imaging, Imagination, 1999.

AVA Gallery, Cape Town, One (collaboration with Arlene Amaler-Raviv), 2000.

AVA Gallery, Cape Town, Absolute Color, 2000.

Bell Roberts Gallery, Cape Town, Collaboration, 2000.

JAK Gallery, London, South Africa, 2000.

Artscape, Cape Town, Brain Storm, 2001.

The Foundry, Cape Town, Heartfelt, 2001.

Pepe Giallo, New York City, New Work New York, 2001.

232 Long, Cape Town, Where the Mountain Meets the City (collaboration with Arlene Amaler-Raviv), 2002.

Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town, Members Exhibition, 2002.

Cape Town Central Station, Voices in Transit, 2002.

Downtown Johannesburg, Art City, 2002.

Jo’burg Gallery, Cape Town, Reality Bytes (Cape Town Month of Photography), 2002.

OMC Gallery, Düsseldorf, Positions of South African Photography Today, 2002.

8th Havana Biennale, Cuba, Livestock (collaboration with Arlene Amaler-Raviv), 2003.

Cape Town, Brett Kebble Art Awards, 2003.

The Cold Room Gallery, Cape Town, Braai, 2003.

Paris Photo, France, Reality Bytes, 2003.

Henie Onstad Kunstsenter Oslo, Norway, Postcards from Cuba, 2004.

Cape Town, Brett Kebble Art Awards, 2004.

OMC Gallery for Contemporary Art, Düsseldorf, Germany, Intercontinental, 2004.

AVA Gallery, Cape Town, Absolute Finale, 2005.

AVA Gallery, Cape Town, Committee Choice, 2005.

Boekehuis, Johannesburg, Itch, 2005.

Cummings Art Center, Connecticut, South Africa Today, 2005.

Jo’burg Gallery, Cape Town, Reality Bytes (Cape Town Month of Photography), 2005.

Sanlam Auditorium, Aardklop Festival, Potchefstroom, Art @ Work, 2005.

Toomey-Tourell Gallery, San Francisco, Past / Present, 2005.

World Art Gallery, Cape Town, Post Mortem 2010, 2006

OMC Gallery - Huntington Beach, California, Precious Little Things, 2006

Miam Miam, Cape Town, Under the Table, 2006

Icebox 02 Film Festival, Cape Town, Post Mortem 2010, 2007

Jo’burg Gallery, X-CAPE, Cape Town, Reality Bytes, 2007

KZNSA Gallery, Durban, Post Mortem 2010 and Reality Bytes, 2007

Lumo International Photography Triennial, Finland, Reality Bytes, 2007

SMAC Gallery, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, Livestock, 2007

Spanierman Modern, New York City, Uniform: South Africa’s New Clothes, 2007

The Photographers Gallery, Cape Town, Love, Bytes & Soccer, 2007

SELECTED REFERENCES

Photographs and articles featured in Los Angeles Magazine, Buzz, LA Times Magazine,

Downbeat, Itch, Westways, Fairlady Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Marie Claire Magazine,

Femina Magazine, Creative Photography Magazine, Live, Arete, Newsweek, Leadership Magazine,

Black & White Magazine, Cape Argus, Cape Times, Mail & Guardian, Sunday Times, Die Burger,

The Sunday Independent, Black Business Quarterly, Cape etc Magazine, ‘Apartheid: A History’

Grafton Books, ‘Johannesburg As It Is’ Argus Publishing.

AWARDS

FujiFilm Professional Photographers Award
Commonwealth Photographic Award
Advertising Photographers of America Award
Photo/Design Magazine Award
Nikon International Award
Shell Press Pictures of the Year Award
World Press Award
National Schools Salon Award
Professional Photographers of South Africa Award.

CORPORATE AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Sasol, Standard Bank,
Old Mutual
South African Breweries
Davis Langdon Farrow Laing
British American Tobacco
Webber Wentzel Bowens
JP Morgan
Cadiz, Coronation, Anglo

PROFESSIONAL

1978. South Africa.
First assistant Vision Photography Studio.

1979 - 1985. South Africa
Staff photographer - 'The Star' newspaper. Worldwide syndication through
Associated Press and United Press International.

1986 - 1996. London - United States
Freelance photography for magazines, newspapers and advertising agencies
including The Sunday Times, Los Angeles Times, Telegraph and The Guardian.

1996 - 2002. South Africa.
Editorial, Advertising & Digital Imaging - Clients include - Hunt Lascaris - Edgars /
Addison Want Stroebel Gorin - Nike, Ogilvy Mather - Old Mutual / Bosman Johnson
Southern Life. Orange Juice Design - World Wildlife Fund, I&J.