Forgotten Beauty: Photography by Stephanie Kaempf

Artist's Statement:

"I photograph dancers because I love the art of dance. I am also a dancer and have been dancing for 19 years. I choreograph, I observe, I study, I perform, being a dancer really helped me portray these photographs the way I envisioned them. The beautiful movement and elegance dancers create with their bodies is truly something amazing to witness.

I’ve been exploring abandoned buildings for a long time, photographing inside and out. The old, run down, grimy looking buildings are surprisingly very beautiful to me. Just to think at one point in time there was so much going on inside them, and just one day it shuts down forever and becomes empty and forgotten.

My vision is to take these dancers on an adventure into these buildings and take photographs of them. Of their movement, their grace, the beauty and passion. Dance is a beautiful art and the movement created with the body is extraordinary. My end goal is to photograph these beautiful dancers using elegant movement in these forgotten but also beautiful abandoned spaces. The dancer makes a beautiful contrast in this old, grimy space.  

The passion you can see in their eyes as they express themselves through dance, when words are insufficient. Dance is a language that is felt instead of heard. I created something out of the ordinary. Something that will draw any viewer’s eye and attention and grasp it. I incorporated things I have a great deal of interest and passion for.

The music that is being played at my show is the music that the dancers in the photographs have danced to in their dancing careers. Contemporary, modern type soft music with a lot of emotion."

Opening Reception:
Thursday, April 18th
6-9pm
Starlight Studio & Art Gallery
340 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202
On-View through May 3rd, 2019