Stage Still 17
Artist
Jo Whaley
(American, born 1953)
Date2014 (printed 2025)
MediumPigment print
DimensionsSupport: 20 × 24 in. (50.8 × 61 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineGift of Jo Whaley, 2025
Object number2025.14.6
DescriptionView of the balcony seating area of an auditorium, with ochre-colored walls and ornate, patterned edging. At top is a partial view of the ceiling, which is painted to look like a blue sky with many white clouds. The dark wooden seats are arranged in six horizontal rows with open metal railings. Two red-and-white light-up signs are on the wall, one reading “LOUDER // SLOWER” and the other reading “EXIT.” At right are steps leading to a thickly curtained doorway. A blonde woman in a black dress with red tights is ascending the stairs with her back to the viewer.eMuseum Notes
Early in her artistic career, Jo Whaley supported herself working as a scenic painter for the San Francisco Opera and other Bay Area performance spaces. She has long been drawn to opera and theater and her interest in the historic backdrops of the theater at the Scottish Rite Temple in Santa Fe, built in 1912, led to an extensive project documenting its theater, stage, and related facilities. In the process, she also staged her own compositions in the theater, using the backdrops and furnishings with live models. Whaley uses heightened color and clarity to give the old-fashioned tier of balcony seats a surreal appearance, to which she adds the presence of a well-dressed but ghostly audience member heading for the exit. The scene is like a glimpse out of the corner of your eye, something that may or may not have happened.
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