The singular focus of Earl Dotter

By Lisa Traiger
August 18, 2022. 21 AV 5782. Vol 58 No. 33

Sixty years ago, at age 19, Earl Dotter moved to California with the goal of becoming a state resident for the then-free college tuition. During his two-year waiting period, he worked at the Gallo Winery Glass Bottle Plant, “inspecting bottle samples for flaws as they emerged from their red-hot molds,” as Dotter, a longtime Silver Spring resident, has written. By 21, enrolled in San Jose State College’s graphic design program, he bought himself a Rolleiflex camera and started photographing as much as he could in the San Francisco Bay area. Read More

Praise

“Dotter’s images ground us in the human stakes of workplace safety laws, regulations, and enforcement. We see the creased lines in faces dusted with coal. We gaze at the limbless sweatshirt sleeve hanging loosely from the side of a fisherman. Our eyes move from button to button in Dotter’s viewfinder, the work ID tags of men and women exposed to asbestos. The faces stare back at us in intimate moments that only photographers with Dotter’s skill and passion make possible.”

LIFE’S WORK – Book Introduction by Howard Berkes, Correspondent, Investigations, National Public Radio.”

“Earl Dotter’s exhibition, ‘BADGES, A Memorial Tribute to Asbestos Workers,’ presented here, brings the human cost of inaction to life. Through his artful photographs, Earl has humanized the plight of asbestos victims from past to present. Earl has fueled the efforts of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) to raise awareness, to remember those who have suffered and died, and to shape policy efforts to ban asbestos. ADAO is deeply grateful for Earl’s commitment to workers’ health, safety, and public health policy.”

Linda Reinstein – Asbestos Widow and President of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.”

“The Swiss-American photographer Robert Frank said, “There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment.” Earl Dotter’s photographs of 9/11 emergency responders – and, over the past five decades, his photographs of workers of all descriptions — convey the humanity of the moment. These images visually describe our shared humanity, better than anyone could do with words.”

Barry Levy, MD, MPH, Co-Editor of Books: Occupational and Environmental Health; Terrorism and Public Health.

“Mr. Dotter is a fearless, magnificent photographer. I am in awe of him for his dedication to his social commitment and his powerful images.”

Cornell Capa
Founding Director Emeritus, International Center of Photography

“Earl Dotter follows in the steps of the famous social documentarians Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine, who taught us how to look at a dehumanizing aspect of living and work. Like theirs, his photographs are meant to make us conscious not only of dangerous conditions of work but more importantly, of the effects of such conditions on working people and their families.”

Naomi Rosenblum
Photohistorian and Author of A World History of Photography

“Earl Dotter enjoys a national reputation for his workplace photographs. He seeks out those individuals who take steps to improve their lives. The images that result tell of the satisfaction of work as well as of its dangerous and dehumanizing aspects.”

David C. Christiani, MD, MPH
Director, Occupational Health Program, Harvard School of Public Health