- unitid
-
{"value"=>"24196", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"(S) *MGZMD 527", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b23109853", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1959-2014", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1959/2014"}
{"value"=>"1965-1981", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1965/1981"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Max Waldman photographs"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"59 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"16.69 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Jerome Robbins Dance Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Max Waldman (1919-1981) was an American photographer noted for creating stylized, expressive dance and theater images. The Max Waldman photographs, which date primarily from 1965 to 1981 and include over a thousand mounted black-and-white photographic prints, trace Waldman's career from its commercial advertising beginnings until his death as a distinguished performance photographer. The collection also includes some professional files relating to management of his studio during and after his lifetime, daybooks, and video recordings."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Waldman, Max", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Max Waldman was born in Brooklyn in 1919 to Austrian immigrant parents. At eight years old, Waldman and his four siblings were placed in an orphanage following the death of their father. Waldman learned to use a camera while working for the Civilian Conservation Corps in the late 1930s. In the early 1940s, he attended Buffalo State Teachers College, Albright Art School, and classes at the Art Students League in New York City.</p> <p>Throughout the 1950s Waldman supported himself as a commercial photographer, specializing in industrial and fashion subjects. In the mid-1960s Waldman turned away from a successful career as an advertising photographer and began working almost exclusively with dancers, actors, and other performers, vowing to photograph \"only what [he] wanted,\" thereafter. In his evocative pictures, Waldman strove to reveal the feeling of movement of each dance, rather than to photographically freeze dancers in mid-pose.</p> <p>Waldman shot most of his photographs in his small studio on East 17th Street in Manhattan, having performers reenact past or future roles and choreography there. Shooting in the studio without an audience present afforded him complete control of lighting conditions and the ability to get intimate close-ups of his subjects. Waldman was drawn to avant-garde works of dance, theater, and performance art. Preferring black-and-white, his expressive images frequently feature nude bodies, inventive costumes, and minimal props.</p> <p>Waldman's performance photography has been exhibited and published widely, both during his lifetime and since. He was the recipient of grants from the New York State Council of the Arts and the National Endowment of the Arts. He is the author of three photography monographs: <span class=\"title\">Zero by Mostel</span> (1965), <span class=\"title\">Waldman on Theater</span> (1971), and <span class=\"title\">Waldman on Dance</span> (1977).</p> <p>Max Waldman died in his studio in 1981.</p> <p>Bibliography:</p> <p>\"Biography,\" Max Waldman Archives, https://www.maxwaldman.com/biography-max-waldman, accessed June 1, 2023.</p>"}
- custodhist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Carol Greunke, Max Waldman's studio manager, inherited his estate after his death. She also maintained this collection of prints and oversaw publication of Waldman's photographs between 1981 and 2016. Any posthumous records in this collection were assembled by Greunke.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Max Waldman photographs, which date from 1959 to 2014, trace Waldman's career from its commercial advertising beginnings through his death as a distinguished performance photographer and beyond. Approximately 1,200 black-and-white photographic prints, dating from 1965 to 1981, comprise the bulk of the collection. Also present are professional files relating to the management of Waldman's studio, both during and after his lifetime; daybooks dating from 1966 to 1981, and video recordings.</p> <p>The black-and-white prints are mounted on 11 x 14\" boards and depict dance and theater works performed in Waldman's small studio rather than at public venues before live audiences. Some prints are close-up character studies or portraits of dancers, performers, and actors. Among the performance images are a small set of Polaroid camera test prints and other small contact proof prints. Waldman assigned unique index numbers to his images beginning with a number indicating the year the image was shot. These index numbers appear on the prints and are noted in the container list. With <span class=\"title\">Oh! Calcutta!</span> (1969), for example, the index number of 691- is listed as a \"local call number\" under the title. Productions Waldman photographed include Natalia Makarova in <span class=\"title\">The Dying Swan</span>, Merce Cunningham in <span class=\"title\">Winterbranch</span>, Judith Jamison in <span class=\"title\">Cry</span>, Carla Fracci in <span class=\"title\">Giselle</span>, the Martha Graham Dance Company's staging of <span class=\"title\">Clytemnestra</span>, Carolee Schneemann's <span class=\"title\">Illinois Central</span>, Peter Brook's <span class=\"title\">Marat/Sade</span>, Jerzy Grotowski's <span class=\"title\">The Constant Prince</span>, and The Performance Group's <span class=\"title\">Dionysus in 69</span>.</p> <p>The collection also includes a section of portraits and a sampling of Waldman's early commercial work. The portraits are mounted black-and-white prints and include the comic actor Zero Mostel, mime artist Marcel Marceau, poet Dame Edith Sitwell, and a group of professional football players. The commercial images, which frequently depict product shots and models posed for advertising purposes, are laminated 11 x 14\" color prints and large format color transparencies. The collection does not contain any work prints, negatives, contact sheets, or 35mm slides.</p> <p>Professional files hold documents and correspondence relating to exhibitions, publication projects, grant applications, biographical material, and the day-to-day management of Waldman's photography studio. Notable correspondents include Morris Carnovsky, Richard Cragun, Merce Cunningham, Carla Fracci, Jerzy Grotowski, Beaumont Newhall, Alwin Nikolais, Gus Solomons, Jr., Edward Steichen, and Eli Wallach. Some files in this section were amassed by Waldman's studio manager, Carol Greunke, after his death.</p> <p>Yearly daybooks from 1966 to 1981 are present. With very few exceptions, entries in these daybooks chronicle the regular and routine details of Waldman's work as a professional photographer. Entries typically contain handwritten lists of names, brief notes on telephone calls, to-do lists, and reminders of appointments.</p> <p>Video recordings dating from the 1970s are also included in the collection. Some of the recordings were made by Waldman of dancers performing as part of a New York State Council on the Arts grant-funded project. Other recordings may be interviews or material Waldman used for reference purposes. Notable names appearing among these recordings include: Dana Wolfe, Louis Falco, Rudy Perez, Paul Sanasardo, Larry Ree, Morris Carnovsky, Alwin Nikolais, Joan Miller, Phillis Lamhut, Rina Yerushalmi, Manuel Alum, and Yuriko Kimura.</p>"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Max Waldman photographs are arranged in four groupings: Prints, Professional Files, Daybooks, and Video Recordings. Prints, which comprise the bulk of the collection, and Daybooks are arranged chronologically by year. Within each year, Prints are additionally arranged according to shoot numbers Waldman assigned them. Professional Files and Video Recordings are arranged alphabetically by title.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by Carol Greunke in 2017 and 2019.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Heather Halliday</span> in <span class=\"date\">2023</span>.</p>"}
- accessrestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>Inquiries regarding audio and moving image materials in the collection may be directed to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division (dance@nypl.org). Audio and moving image materials will be subject to preservation assessment and migration prior to access.</p>"}
- date_start
-
1959
- keydate
-
1959
- date_end
-
2014
- date_inclusive_start
-
1959
- date_inclusive_end
-
2014
- date_bulk_start
-
1965
- date_bulk_end
-
1981
- extent_statement
-
16.69 linear feet (59 boxes)
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Max Waldman photographs, (S) *MGZMD 527. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}