Anna May Wong by Witzel

Portrait of American actress Anna May Wong by photographer Albert Walther Witzel (Witzel Studios, L.A.), ca. 1922 | src eBay

Davey family photos · 1890s

Davey girls at play on bar. ca. 1894. Photo: F. J. Davey | src Tweed museum on ehive

Nellie Davey, daughter of F. J. Davey, seated in chair, 1896 | src Tweed Regional Museum

Katie Davey, daughter of F. J. Davey, kneeling with cat, 1895 | src Tweed Regional Museum

Elin Saxelin · 1899

Unbekannte · von Bucovich

**Mario von Bucovich ~** Die schöne Unbekannte. Das Magazin, B.4 H.42, Februar 1928

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

**Henri Manuel ~** Dancer Anika Yan. Portrait of the dancer Anika Yan (Aniéka Yan), 1926 | src getty images

Merkelbach · Johanna Wittrock

**Atelier Jacob Merkelbach ~** Danseres Johanna Wittrock, 1895 | src Stadsarchief Amsterdam Beeldbank

French postcards · 1920s

French vintage postcard, 1920s | src eBay via Flickr

Two portraits by Frank Eugene

**Frank Eugene** (1865–1936) ~ Lady of Charlotte, 1899. Photogravure. R. Gere photograph collection. | src Christie’s

Eugene’s portrait as it appeared in Camera Work vol. 30, 1909

**Frank Eugene** (1865–1936) ~ Lady of Charlotte, 1899. Photogravure 1909. From the journal Camera Work | src Philamuseum

**Frank Eugene** (1865–1936) ~ Miss Convere Jones, 1899 (Photogravure ca. 1901) R. Gere photograph collection. | src Christie’s

Lady of Charlotte, 1899 by Frank Eugene (detail from image # 1)

Birgit Akesson by Sune Sundahl

**Sune Sundahl ~** Birgit Åkesson dances in a draping dress. Picture taken in studio. Architecture and Design Center Ark Des / ARKM.1988-111-02796

**Sune Sundahl ~** Birgit Åkesson dansar i draperande klänning. Bilden tagen i studio. Arkitektur- och designcentrum Ark Des / ARKM.1988-111-02799

**Sune Sundahl ~** Birgit Åkesson dances in a long draped dress. Picture taken in studio. Architecture and Design Center Ark Des / ARKM.1988-111-02795

**Sune Sundahl ~** Birgit Åkesson dances in a draping dress. Picture taken in studio. Architecture and Design Center Ark Des / ARKM.1988-111-02800-A

**Sune Sundahl ~** Birgit Åkesson dansar i draperande klänning. Bilden tagen i studio. Arkitektur- och designcentrum Ark Des / ARKM.1988-111-02800-B

**Sune Sundahl ~** Birgit Åkesson dances in a draped dress. Picture taken in studio. Architecture and Design Center Ark Des / ARKM.1988-111-02801

All the images in this post are from the exhibition: «Dansen har mycket gemensamt med arkitektur» (2013). Some of the images are dated 1939-1947 but most of them undated.

«Dance has a lot in common with architecture» (2013)

Movement, rhythm, space and body in dance have much in common with architecture. Spatiality can only be experienced with the body, in movement. There are several good reasons to pay attention to the connections between the room shape and people’s movements in the rooms. Whether dancing or walking around a building, there is both flow and embodiment. Perhaps it was precisely these common denominators that made Birgit Åkesson choose the architectural photographer Sune Sundahl to document her early choreographies?

Photographing movement is a big challenge, a movement in a frozen moment can easily turn into a rigid pose without context or dynamism. In Sundahl’s collection there are, among other things, pictures from Birgit Åkesson’s own performance Blue Evening from 1946. The title was probably taken from the blue-painted Konserthuset in Stockholm, designed by Ivar Tengbom 1924-26. Here, Birgit Åkesson experimented with movements without music, which was unique for the time. She also studied during her lifetime the dances of other cultures, including dances African dances from the south of the Sahara and the Butoh dance from Japan.

The dancer, choreographer and dance researcher Birgit Åkesson (1908-2001) taught the viewer to listen to the sound of movement in the silence. It was about holding a dialogue, where the rhythm carried the form that left invisible traces in the air. Birgit Åkesson started her dance career in the 1920s and 30s when she studied with the German-born choreographer Mary Wigman. It was from her that the Swedish dancer found the expressionist language, the free dance. Birgit Åkesson was one of the leading avant-garde artists in free dance.

Lenita Gärde, Center for Architecture and Design (quoted from ArkDes)