Featured Project – BODYVOX
We practically had the museum to ourselves
Portland Art Museum generously opened their doors to us at Polara Studio and BodyVox during their pandemic closure. In the three days we spent photographing their art and architecture, we practically had the museum to ourselves. It was amazing.
Here are the BodyVox Dancers posing with a sculpture by Mel Katz (American, Born 1932), Silhouette, 1980, fiberglass and wood. This was a gift of Arlene and Harold Schnitzer.
Photographer: Michael Shay
Studio (location) Manager: Muffy Kruger
Using photography to blend art and the art of dance gave us a chance to use some cool techniques to produce fresh looks to classic images.
BodyVox dancing in front of Eanger Irving Course (American, 1866-1936), La Partie de la Peche (The Fishing Party), 1980, Oil and Canvas. Gift of Miss Clementina and Miss Virginia Wilson and niece, Miss Louise Linthicum.
Portland Art Museum has to go down in Polara’s history as one of our favorite places to shoot. Such fun spending a few hours in front of a classic like Claude Monet, Waterlilies, 1914-1915, oil on canvas, Museum Purchase: Helen Thurston Ayer Fund.
Working with a modern artist’s piece like “Exxon: Five Horsemen of the Apocalypse” (2019) by Ed Bereal, gave us a chance to photograph some really unique perspectives.
Whether curling up on the ground or flying through the air, none of this would’ve been possible without the help of the following people:
Ashley Roland and Jamie Hampton, founders and artistic directors of BodyVox who conceived this crazy idea. Brian Ferriso, the Director and Chief Curator of Portland Art Museum who gave us permission to shoot at his house. And of course Anne Crouchley, the Associate Registrar at PAM, who took us around the museum and help us figure out where, how and what we could shoot in ways that were respectful to both the art and the artists.
