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Artist/Maker
Rhona Bitner
(American, born 1960)
Date2022
MediumArchival pigment print
DimensionsImage: 40 × 55 in. (101.6 × 139.7 cm)
Frame: 41 × 56 × 1 3/4 in. (104.1 × 142.2 × 4.4 cm)
Credit LineRuth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY.
Object number2024.7.1
Not on view
DescriptionA chance encounter sparked the ongoing “Pointe” series (2020–present) when an artist who was cleaning out a storage space offered Bitner a box of over 200 worn toe shoes found on the street a decade earlier. Upon closer inspection, Bitner recognized the names scribbled on some of the soles as those of New York City Ballet company dancers, stamped with dates as far back as 1994. Bitner’s research-based process led her to learn more about the history of ballet, the dancers she identified, and the shoes’ maker, Freed of London. In her photographs, Bitner resolved to focus on the platform, that two-inch surface upon which the dancer balances the entirety of their weight. Bitner commented, “I realized how much strength and effort goes into that point. Each shoe possessed the essence of the ballerina who wore it.” This series examines the material aspect of performance, depicting the shoes in extreme closeup and presented at a grand scale to monumentalize them, making every fiber and tear visible. Whereas the ballet dancer often appears to float effortlessly, here the evidence of that hard work is revealed.
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Additional Details
Signature
Top of shoe, within image: "Misty Copeland"
Verso, within window (Sharpie): "© RHONA BITNER 2022 / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED / 4 1/2.X + MC / FROM POINTE 1/3"
Verso, within window (Sharpie): "© RHONA BITNER 2022 / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED / 4 1/2.X + MC / FROM POINTE 1/3"
Ilse Bing
Date: June 8, 1937 (printed 1984)
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Object number: 2015.11.2
Rhona Bitner
Date: 2020
Medium: Silver gelatin prints
Object number: 2024.7.9.1-84a
Rhona Bitner
Date: October 29, 2008 (printed 2013)
Medium: Chromogenic print mounted on aluminum
Object number: 2014.3.1
Rhona Bitner
Date: 2000
Medium: Cibachrome print
Object number: 2024.7.2
Rhona Bitner
Date: 1999
Medium: Cibachrome print
Object number: 2024.7.5
Rhona Bitner
Date: 1994
Medium: Fujiflex print
Object number: 2024.7.4
Rhona Bitner
Date: 2000
Medium: Fujiflex print
Object number: 2024.7.3
Rhona Bitner
Date: October 28, 2008, printed 2013
Medium: Chromogenic print, mounted on aluminum
Object number: 2014.3.2
Louis Naranjo
Date: c. 1980 - 1997
Medium: Terracotta with paint, wood, and feathers
Object number: 2018.3.6