8.06.2008

rachel papo: behind the scenes



I'm fascinated by Rachel Papo's images of backstage goings on at the New York City Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera. Her photographs are beautiful, and their matter-of-fact attitude only heightens the appeal.








Rachel Papo was born in 1970 in Columbus, Ohio and raised in Israel. She began photographing as a teenager and attended a renowned fine arts high school in Haifa. She holds a degree in fine arts from Ohio State University and an MFA in photography from New York's School of
Visual Arts.




These images of theatrical furnishings present a sharp contrast to some of Papo's more recent work. At age 18, she served in the Israeli Air Force as a photographer. Those two intensive years inspired Serial No. 3817131, a project titled after Papo's own number during service. There's a great interview with Papo about her photographs of Israeli military women here.




Papo continues to photograph in both Israel and New York. She lives in Brooklyn.





:rachel papo, nutcracker fitting series
serial no. 3817131 series
papo at clampart

10 comments:

P said...

I love the shot of the "dead bodice." And the tutus. All of them, actually.

Jane Flanagan said...

Love it! And thanks again for your e-mail :)

Jen said...

Wonderful photos! I was lucky enough to be part of an NYC/Metropolitan Opera education project during my high school years and we staged a high school version of La Boheme as the Met was doing their landmark version with Pavarotti. We got to see a rehearsal and to meet with our "counterparts" - I was the set designer and was able to meet David Reppa, the designer, and my crew and I went on a fabulous backstage tour. It's still one of my fondest school memories, and this is 30-some years later!

blah said...

I love those tutus!

PS my book arrived!! THANK YOU you gorgeous woman!! A thousand smiles to you:-)

Design Scouting said...

I love this! Thanks for sharing! happy friday!

Vanessa said...

I love ballet, and ballet dresses! Thanks for sharing this. I saw her series on Israeli girls in the army. I remember photographing the same subject many times over the years and it always makes me reflect on the "parallel universes" of women's lives around the world.

tangobaby said...

My goodness. I'm gone for a few days from your blog and it's filled with the most gorgeous posts. Every single one is incredible eye candy with something to learn as well.

Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Wow i want to be a ballerina, beautiful images

AshleyL. said...

incredibly beautiful pictures. i especially love the first one with the pink!

studio wellspring said...

oh, i adore her work. brings back so many memories!