A Fragment of History on Exposed: The Performer Backstage
Houston-based artist, Michele Wambaugh, is the only photographer to document the backstage milieu of over 40 major dance, theatre and opera companies, in North America and Europe, including musicals on Broadway and London stages. This series began quite modestly in the classrooms of the Oakland Ballet Company in 1979. During the years Wambaugh lived in the San Francisco Bay Area (until ’91) she worked with local companies, as well as, visited many European theatres. She has stated, “Some of my finest work was done with the companies I established long-term working relations with, like the San Francisco and Oakland Ballets. I loved working with those artistic directors who understood what I was trying to do. And it certainly wasn’t to capture a perfect pirouette.” Backstage was first exhibited in 1980 at the Oakland Museum featuring the Oakland Ballet. By 1982 the body of work included images from Europe and was shown at The Focus Gallery in San Francisco and featured on TV news.
In these historic and unique, golden-hued images, Wambaugh has captured the character of individual performers behind their personas, the lyricism of bodies during: warm up and preparation, the dressing room, camaraderie and backstage excitement, loneliness and concentration or exhaustion, most elements that are always hidden from an audience. “People always ask me how I get backstage,” Wambaugh repeats. “It was never easy, obviously I was very persistent. But some places took six months to arrange.” In Vienna at the Staatsoper, she made history by being the very first photographer ever allowed to record their backstage and thus discovered what a rare privilege it was to document what she had chosen. “I was drawn to this magical world in quest of the color photograph perfectly defining the beauty, tension and great discipline of talent in its most fleeting moment. With each performance I would bite off the challenge of drastically changing lights, movement of performers and sets with gusto and hope for a few evocative images. Somehow I was always lucky.”
Degree of difficulty was one reason Canon Cameras of Tokyo featured Wambaugh’s Backstage twice in their international multi-language tech magazine, The Canon Chronicle. Surmounting a myriad of technical difficulties, both inherent in film of the ‘80-90’s and printing proved to be most difficult problems as this series was shot on Ektachrome 400 then pushed to 800. Fast film was necessary due to the moving subjects and lack of light and of course, no flash was ever allowed backstage! There was no control over subjects or lights. “It’s really crazy,” the artist admits, ”This is like sports photography only without light.” But this lack allowed her to bend the mood of images using color, body line or facial expressions. “I feel that ultimately my series humanizes performance by unmasking the performers in their private moments before and during their work. Viewers at my exhibitions are always excited and amazed at the juxtaposition of the costumed persona with such intimacy.” Priscilla Hexter, curator of ProArts, Stanford University wrote, “Wambaugh’s series makes interesting comment on reality vs. unreality …She finds and reveals a different kind of beauty.” In today’s often violent world, it is increasingly difficult to find urban documentaries featuring upbeat beautiful themes.
Selected Millennium Museum Exhibitions of Backstage:
2008 Retrospective: Photographs 1978-2008, CICCC, Beijing, CHINA
2003 Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX
2002 Washington County Museum of Art, Hagerstown, Maryland
2001 McNay Museum, San Antonio, TX
Collections:
Southland, Corp. TX; USA and European Dance Company Archives; Performing Arts Centers;
Helen Johnston Memorial Collection and private individuals, Houston, East & West Coasts
Honors and Appointments:
2010 Marquis’ Who’s Who in American Art
2004 Visiting Professor, Utkal Culture University, Bhubaneswar, INDIA
2009 Visiting Professor, Osmania University, Hyderabad, INDIA
2003-7 Mayoral appointee, Board Member Civic Art Committee, Houston, TX
Houston-based artist, Michele Wambaugh, is the only photographer to document the backstage milieu of over 40 major dance, theatre and opera companies, in North America and Europe, including musicals on Broadway and London stages. This series began quite modestly in the classrooms of the Oakland Ballet Company in 1979. During the years Wambaugh lived in the San Francisco Bay Area (until ’91) she worked with local companies, as well as, visited many European theatres. She has stated, “Some of my finest work was done with the companies I established long-term working relations with, like the San Francisco and Oakland Ballets. I loved working with those artistic directors who understood what I was trying to do. And it certainly wasn’t to capture a perfect pirouette.” Backstage was first exhibited in 1980 at the Oakland Museum featuring the Oakland Ballet. By 1982 the body of work included images from Europe and was shown at The Focus Gallery in San Francisco and featured on TV news.
In these historic and unique, golden-hued images, Wambaugh has captured the character of individual performers behind their personas, the lyricism of bodies during: warm up and preparation, the dressing room, camaraderie and backstage excitement, loneliness and concentration or exhaustion, most elements that are always hidden from an audience. “People always ask me how I get backstage,” Wambaugh repeats. “It was never easy, obviously I was very persistent. But some places took six months to arrange.” In Vienna at the Staatsoper, she made history by being the very first photographer ever allowed to record their backstage and thus discovered what a rare privilege it was to document what she had chosen. “I was drawn to this magical world in quest of the color photograph perfectly defining the beauty, tension and great discipline of talent in its most fleeting moment. With each performance I would bite off the challenge of drastically changing lights, movement of performers and sets with gusto and hope for a few evocative images. Somehow I was always lucky.”
Degree of difficulty was one reason Canon Cameras of Tokyo featured Wambaugh’s Backstage twice in their international multi-language tech magazine, The Canon Chronicle. Surmounting a myriad of technical difficulties, both inherent in film of the ‘80-90’s and printing proved to be most difficult problems as this series was shot on Ektachrome 400 then pushed to 800. Fast film was necessary due to the moving subjects and lack of light and of course, no flash was ever allowed backstage! There was no control over subjects or lights. “It’s really crazy,” the artist admits, ”This is like sports photography only without light.” But this lack allowed her to bend the mood of images using color, body line or facial expressions. “I feel that ultimately my series humanizes performance by unmasking the performers in their private moments before and during their work. Viewers at my exhibitions are always excited and amazed at the juxtaposition of the costumed persona with such intimacy.” Priscilla Hexter, curator of ProArts, Stanford University wrote, “Wambaugh’s series makes interesting comment on reality vs. unreality …She finds and reveals a different kind of beauty.” In today’s often violent world, it is increasingly difficult to find urban documentaries featuring upbeat beautiful themes.
Selected Millennium Museum Exhibitions of Backstage:
2008 Retrospective: Photographs 1978-2008, CICCC, Beijing, CHINA
2003 Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX
2002 Washington County Museum of Art, Hagerstown, Maryland
2001 McNay Museum, San Antonio, TX
Collections:
Southland, Corp. TX; USA and European Dance Company Archives; Performing Arts Centers;
Helen Johnston Memorial Collection and private individuals, Houston, East & West Coasts
Honors and Appointments:
2010 Marquis’ Who’s Who in American Art
2004 Visiting Professor, Utkal Culture University, Bhubaneswar, INDIA
2009 Visiting Professor, Osmania University, Hyderabad, INDIA
2003-7 Mayoral appointee, Board Member Civic Art Committee, Houston, TX
