Transcriptions from Dance ImagesThematic Series

In 1990, Steffa Reis attended rehearsals of various dance companies participating in the annual Riverside Church Dance Festival in New York City. She was inspired by the dancers and choreography, and began working on enlarged photocopies of their original black-and-white press release photographs. Using chalk pastel, she superimposed her own dance images on the photographs. She then presented these works as a display for the opening of the festival. The gallerist Bertha Urdang, a promoter of Israeli art in New York, saw the series and invited her to exhibit them at her gallery. Steffa Reis decided to create an additional series for the gallery. Now, she photocopied the dance-related works and drew upon them architectonic elements of Urdang’s gallery and office. In the exhibition, the two series, presenting the manifold transformation of images, were placed on opposite walls.

In 1990, Steffa Reis attended rehearsals of various dance companies participating in the annual Riverside Church Dance Festival in New York City. She was inspired by the dancers and choreography, and began working on enlarged photocopies of their original black-and-white press release photographs.

Using chalk pastel, she superimposed her own dance images on the photographs. She then presented these works as a display for the opening of the festival. The gallerist Bertha Urdang, a promoter of Israeli art in New York, saw the series and invited her to exhibit them at her gallery. Steffa Reis decided to create an additional series for the gallery. Now, she photocopied the dance-related works and drew upon them architectonic elements of Urdang’s gallery and office. In the exhibition, the two series, presenting the manifold transformation of images, were placed on opposite walls.

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