Barbara DuMetz

Barbara DuMetz (born 1947) is an American photographer and pioneer in the field of commercial photography. She began working in Los Angeles as a commercial photographer in the 1970s, when very few women had established and maintained successful careers in the field, especially African-American women.[1][2][3][4] Over the course of her career, "she made a major contribution to diversifying the landscape of images that defined pop culture in the United States."[5]

External video
The Barbara DuMetz Photography Exhibit, Fisk University
“Barbara DuMetz Profile Video”, Spencer Glover & Malcolm Voltaire

DuMetz is known for her work with African-American celebrities, corporations and images of everyday life in African-American communities. She has won three CEBA awards and a LULU award for her commercial photography.[6][7] Group shows have included her work in Atlanta,[8][9] Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City.[6] Retrospectives of her work have appeared at the Carl Van Vechten Gallery at Fisk University in 2014[5] and at Texas Southern University.[6]

Early life

DuMetz was born in Charleston, West Virginia, the only girl and second of four children to Eustace T. DuMetz, II, DDS and Constance R. (née Brooks). Her grandfather, Eustace DuMetz, was a free-lance photographer who worked for the Pittsburgh Courier and Charleston Gazette.[1]

When DuMetz was five years old, her family moved to Detroit where she attended school, graduating from Central High School. She attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, majoring in Psychology. After graduating from Fisk University in 1969,[10] she attended the Art Center College of Design, now located in Pasadena, California.[6]

Career

DuMetz has been a professional photographer for more than four decades. Over the course of her career, she has produced award-winning images for advertising agencies[1] including Burrell Advertising,[11] J. P. Martin Associates and InterNorth Corporation. Her photographs have appeared in African-American publications including Black Enterprise,[2][12] Ebony,[13] Essence,[2][10] Jet[14] and The Crisis. She has taken commercial photographs for corporations including The Coca-Cola Company,[11][5] Delta Air Lines and McDonald’s Corporation.[6]

DuMetz ran and maintained three different photography studios located in the Los Angeles area where she was contracted by department stores, record companies, graphic design studios, advertising agencies, public relations firms, film production companies, actors and business professionals. DuMetz's has shot photo layouts of celebrities and artists and personalities including Maya Angelou,[5] Ernie Barnes, Bernie Casey,[6] Pam Grier,[6] Kareem Abdul Jabbar,[6] Quincy Jones,[5] Samella Lewis, Ed McMahan,[6] Thelonious Monk,[5] Lou Rawls,[6] Della Reese,[6] Richard Roundtree,[6] Betye Saar,[6] Charles Wilbert White, and Nancy Wilson.[6] Her show The Creators: Photographic Images of Literary, Music and Visual Artists, at the Southwest Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2015, included images of over two dozen African-American artists whom she has photographed.[3]

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References
  1. Rawlins, Randolph Jimmy (February 1982). "The World of Commercial Photographers: Black photographers are focusing on the lucrative fields of fashion and advertising". Black Enterprise. 12 (7): 72–76.
  2. Williams, Michael W. (1993). The African American encyclopedia. 5. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. p. 1245. ISBN 9781854355454. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  3. Jean-Laurent, Annabella (July 6, 2015). "Interview : Barbara DuMetz's "Creators" at the Southwest Arts Center". Burnaway, the Voice of Art in the South.
  4. Directory of historical figures. Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press. 2000. p. 177. ISBN 9780893563349.
  5. "Barbara DuMetz Coca-Cola advertisement". ArtCenter, Pasadena, CA. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  6. "Visibility: Through her eyes, Barbara DuMETZ Photography". University Museum at Texas Southern University. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  7. Rothenberg, Randall (October 21, 1988). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: Advertising; CEBA Gives Awards for '88". The New York Times. p. 15. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  8. Smithson, Aline (October 14, 2015). "On Being Black at the Arnika Dawkins Gallery". Lenscratch.
  9. "On Being Black". Society for Photographic Education Design and Development by FORM. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  10. Moutoussamy-Ashe, Jeanne (1993). Viewfinders : black women photographers. New York: Writers & Readers Publ. p. 162. ISBN 0863161588.
  11. CEBA Exhibit Journal. New York, N.Y.: World Institute of Black Communications (WIBC) Incorporated. 1985. p. 51.
  12. "Photographers". Black Enterprise. 11 (5): 3. December 1980.
  13. "Caring is an Everyday Thing". Ebony. March: 18. 1978. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  14. "Pick up a phone and answer a prayer". Jet. 71 (9): 19. November 17, 1986. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
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