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