Amy Arbus: Beyond Reason

Mitchell • Giddings Fine Arts hosts Beyond Reason, stop action images of burlesque dancers and circus performers, by famed New York photographer Amy Arbus.

After the pandemic, Arbus ventured with her curiosity and camera into town fairs and traveling circuses where she became enthralled with the contortionists, trapeze artists and acrobats. Says Arbus, “Watching the performers’ extraordinary feats, the audience roars with laughter, gasps, covers their eyes and stares in disbelief. Meanwhile, I am photographing at ten frames per second to capture the action. I look for moments that happen so fast that we are not conscious of seeing them.”

“With her camera, Amy Arbus has discovered bodies in the exquisite arch of pain, desire and beauty. These performers have made an almost gruesome request of their own bodies to do something beyond reason.” (Mike Carroll, owner of Schoolhouse Gallery, Provincetown)