Category: 1920s

Berber by Kallmus · 1922

Atelier Madame d’Ora :: Anita Berber in ihres Tanzstücks “Kokain”. Die Tänze des Lasters, des Grauens und der Ekstase, Wien, 1922. Photoinstitut Bonartes | src Der Standard

Photoinstitut Bonartes: Ausstellungsdauer: 25.08.2023 – 17.11.2023

Tänze des Lasters, des Grauens und der Ekstase. Anita Berber in Wien 1922

Im November 1922, inmitten der Wirtschaftskrise, kennt Wien nur ein Gesprächsthema: Anita Berber und ihre Tänze des Lasters, des Grauens und der Ekstase. Zusammen mit ihrem Partner Sebastian Droste bringt sie Tabuthemen wie Drogenmissbrauch, Suizid und homosexuelles Begehren auf die Bühne. Um das skandalumwitterte Programm zu bewerben, tritt das Duo vor die Kamera Madame d’Oras. Seit Jahren schon arbeitet Berber mit der Wiener Porträtfotografin an der Inszenierung ihres raffinierten Spiels aus kalkuliertem Schock und Tanzkunst. Diese düster-dramatischen Fotografien illustrieren nicht nur zahlreiche Zeitungsartikel, sondern auch Berbers einzige Publikation. Darin gibt sie Einblick in ihre Gedankenwelt, kritisiert die Hysterie um ihre Person und befeuert sie zugleich aufs Neue.

link zu Ausstellung

 Atelier d‘Ora :: Anita Berber in Cocaine. Dances of Vice, Horror and Ecstasy, Vienna, 1922. | src Kulturpool FS_PE268437

New exhibition at Photoinstitut Bonartes:

Dances of Vice, Horror and Ecstasy. Anita Berber in Vienna 1922

In November 1922, in the midst of the economic crisis, Vienna only had one topic of conversation: Anita Berber and her dances of vice, horror and ecstasy. Together with her partner Sebastian Droste, she brings taboo topics such as drug abuse, suicide and homosexual desire to the stage. In order to promote the scandalous program, the duo appears in front of Madame d’Ora’s camera. Berber has been working with the Viennese portrait photographer for years on staging her sophisticated game of calculated shock and dance art. These darkly dramatic photographs not only illustrate numerous newspaper articles, but also Berber’s only publication. In it she gives insight into her world of thoughts, criticizes the hysteria surrounding her and at the same time fuels it anew.

link to the exhibition

Tänze des Lasters, des Grauens und der Ekstase. Anita Berber in Wien 1922 – Photoinstitut Bonartes via Kurier.at

Ausstellung über Anita Berber: Provokation einer Exzentrikerin mit Erotik und Ekstase

„Tänze des Lasters, des Grauens und der Ekstase“ brachte sie ab November 1922 auf die Wiener Bühnen: Anita Berber war für Monate ein Aufreger im Nachtleben der Stadt mit ihren trotz Hyperinflation stets restlos ausverkauften Auftritten im Wiener Konzerthaus. | src Kurier.at

Exhibition about Anita Berber: provocation of an eccentric with eroticism and ecstasy

She brought “Dances of Vice, Horror and Ecstasy” to the Viennese stages from November 1922: Anita Berber was a sensation in the city’s nightlife for months with her performances in the Vienna Konzerthaus, which was always completely sold out despite the hyperinflation. | src Kurier.at

The dancer Aniéka Yan · 1920s

Role portrait of the dancer Aniéka Yan. Published in Cinéa magazine, May 1921
Role portrait of the dancer Aniéka Yan. Published in Cinéa magazine, May 1921
Role portrait of the dancer Aniéka Yan. Published in Cinéa magazine, May 1921
Henri Manuel ~ Dancer Anika Yan. Portrait of the dancer Anika Yan (Aniéka Yan), 1926 | src getty images

Vintage bathers

J. Mandel ~ Jolie Baigneuse. French vintage postcard. Alfred Noyer stamp, numbered 405. | src eBay
Bather / swimmer training for the Olympic games in the lake in the Arboretum park, Los Angeles, 1932
General Picture News. January 5th, 1932 | src Drouot ~ Photographies de Presse

Drtikol · Composition w circle

František Drtikol (1883 – 1961) ~ Untitled [Female nude with circular and triangular structures], 1924. Gelatin silver print. | src Christie’s
František Drtikol (1883 – 1961) ~ Composition # 14, 1925. Stamp of Bromografia Podebrady. | src The Baruch foundation

French postcards · 1920s

French vintage postcard (1920s)
French vintage postcard, 1920s | src eBay via Flickr

Bulgarian Ballads · 1921

Bulgarian Ballads by Teodor Traianov, 1921; illustrator / engraver : Sirak Skitnik | detail from book cover
Bŭlgarski baladi / Bulgarian Ballads by Teodor Trayanov, 1921, illustrator Sirak Skitnik. Book front cover | src modernism.scas.bg
Maika by Sirak Skitnik. Third illustration from the cycle Bulgarian Ballads by Teodor Trayanov, 1921
Maika / Mourning mothers. From: Bulgarian Ballads by Teodor Trayanov, 1921, illustrator Sirak Skitnik. | book scan from Alba

If you wish to learn more or read more about Sirak Skitnik and Bulgarian Modernism or Native Art, you may want to dig further here:

topnovini.bg

web stage

Modernism and the National Idea in Bulgaria @ sledva.nbu.bg (in English)

The whole batch of illustrations from the book are available to be viewed (but in very poor resolution) at the NYPL

Сирак Скитник / Sirak Skitnik ~ Maika / Mourning mothers, 1920-1921
According to Irina Genova, there are three versions of this same composition
Sirak Skitnik ~ (Opustoshenie / Devastation, 1920-1921
From : Bŭlgarski baladi / Bulgarian Ballads by Teodor Trayanov, 1921, illustrator / engraver : Sirak Skitnik
Sirak Skitnik ~ Zaklinania / Incantation, 1920-1921
Bulgarian Ballads by Teodor Trayanov, 1921, illustrator Sirak Skitnik (Zaklinania / Incantation). Book scan from Alba

Visual dialogue · Tornadoes

Tornado near Jasper, Minnesota, July 8, 1927 taken by 15 year old Lucille Handberg | src Billy Parrot Collection (view on Fb)

Two theories: the second tornado snapshot (on the bottom) had a Canedy’s Camera Shop 1927 date stamp on the verso. Canedy’s was in South Dakota and sold local souvenir snapshots (Bad Lands, Black Hills, etc…) between the 1920s – 1940s. It is also probable that when 15-year old Lucille Handberg took this photo her neighbor, who was an engineer, recognized its importance and sent copies to scientists around the country and these could be two of those. text adapted from source : Billy Parrot

Tornado near Jasper, Minnesota, July 8, 1927 taken by 15 year old Lucille Handberg
Tornado near Jasper, Minnesota, July 8, 1927 taken by 15 year old Lucille Handberg
Tornado near Jasper, Minnesota, July 8, 1927 taken by 15 year old Lucille Handberg

The images above this line are most probably scanned from newspapers of the time, we were not able to find the original source. The second image is from The Gallery of Natural Phenomena, where you can read more about the circumstances in which the photo was shot. [x]

Only the image below can be reached on the Library of Congress.

AWE-INSPIRING – This unusual photo of a South Dakota “twister” was made by Miss by Lucille Handberg at the risk of her life.
Published in New Britain Herald (New Britain, Conn.), August 6, 1928, page 14 | src Library of Congress
The classic photograph of a tornado taken near Jasper, Minnesota, on July 8, 1927 (Lucille Handberg) – Scan

Controversy arises : Jasper tornado of 1927 is, according to South Dakota Public Broadcasting (based on information from Siouxland Heritage Museums), the Sioux Falls tornado of 1932…

… view two images below.

The Deadly Sioux Falls Tornado of 1932. Siouxland Heritage Museums | src images of the Past
The Deadly Sioux Falls Tornado of 1932. Siouxland Heritage Museums | src South Dakota Public Broadcasting
Image of the famous tornado used on the cover of book ‘The Breath of God’ by Swami Chetanananda [作者] (1988) | src amazon
Image from the cover of book ‘The Breath of God’ by Swami Chetanananda, retrieved from internet archive
Cover of book ‘The Breath of God’ by Swami Chetanananda, retrieved from internet archive
Cover of Tinderbox, the seventh album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released on 21 April, 1986
Cover design of the album Stormbringer by Deep Purple (1974)
Cover of Bitches Brew, a studio double album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released on 30 March, 1970

A Gothic visual dialogue

Film still from The Sorrows of Satan (D.W. Griffith, 1926), starring Adolphe Menjou, Carol Dempster, Ricardo Cortez and Lya de Putti
The screenplay was based on the Victorian gothic novel by Marie Corelli (1895)

Watch the film on YouTube ~ link to this scene : here

Nevertheless, our favorite scene takes place a few minutes before during the night in Geoffrey’s ominous mansion. Geoffrey’s wife, an exotic Russian princess in exile (Lya de Putti) confess Prince Lucio that she married Geoffrey only to be near him (Satan). Geoffrey awakens and creeps down the stairs to find his wife throwing herself at Lucio’s feet. It’s a suspenseful sequence with shadowy shots of the mansion that looks menacing. Link to scene

Read the novel on Project Gutenberg : The Sorrows of Satan or, The Strange Experience of One Geoffrey Tempest, Millionaire, A Romance : eBook

Cover design for Bela Lugosi’s Dead, the first single by the English post-punk band Bauhaus, released on 6 August 1979
It is often considered the first gothic rock record

Listen to «Bela Lugosi’s Dead» on Bauhaus Official YouTube channel