The cast of “Ink” warming up before the show.Heather Sten for The New York Times
The jittery energy backstage at a Broadway theater 30 minutes before showtime, or in the seconds before the curtain rises at the Metropolitan Opera. Björk and Erykah Badu in all their regalia, and the happily-ever-after Swiss life of Tina Turner in retirement, but hardly retiring. Two lions in winter, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, remembering when they were cubs.
These were some of the pictures that stayed with us as we looked back at our favorite arts photography published this year by The New York Times.
In a world obsessed with image, there is an industry devoted to feeding pictures of stars and wannabe stars — as they would like to be seen — to hungry Instagram feeds and celebrity publications. The photographers The Times sent out to capture the rich world of culture this year were aiming for something different: striking pictures that revealed deeper truths about art and the people who make it, and how we experience it.
They took us behind the scenes. Their portraits showed us the power and grace of the dancer Herman Cornejo, Amy Schumer subverting the whole nude pregnant celebrity genre, Adam Driver and Keri Russell in a suitably moody chiaroscuro. And they bore witness, bringing us amazing moments — from a Jamaican dancehall queen to a girl and her slime. Have a look.
“I returned the following afternoon to find her transformed: wig styled, lips painted red, eyes sparkling. ‘That was Anna Mae yesterday,’ she told me. ‘Here’s Tina.’”
— Amanda Hess on Tina Turner
“The studio turned into the corner of a sooty bar, where a pair of notorious gangsters plotted their next move.”
— Philip Montgomery on photographing Robert De Niro and Al Pacino
“While backstage waiting for the show to start, I saw this. A perfect reminder of just how hard Hollywood works to bring us the glitz and glamour.”
— Michelle Groskopf on photographing behind the scenes at the Emmys
Björk and Erykah Badu
“I wanted to get as close as I could without losing my hearing.”
— Devin Yalkin on photographing “Hadestown” band members warming up before the Broadway show
“She welcomed me like it was an extension of the performance — wrestling and destroying her celebratory roses, rolling around on the floor, making faces.”
— Caroline Tompkins on photographing Alia Shawkat backstage, just after finishing the 24-hour performance of “The Second Woman” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
“When Joaquin spotted my skateboard, he took off on it across the parking lot. I chased him on a bike, shooting three cameras. When he got to the next location, he smiled, stoked I could catch up with him.”
— Magdalena Wosinska on photographing Joaquin Phoenix
“Looking up at the choir ascending the hill, with the sun shining bright, was almost like staring at a painting.”
— Rozette Rago on photographing Kanye West’s Sunday Service performance at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
“Human beings like shiny things.”
— Reeve Peterson, a gem dealer, on hunting for crystals at Gem-O-Rama
The artist Simone Leigh’s “Brick House,” a 16-foot-tall bronze bust displayed on the High Line in Manhattan.
“As I was shooting I kept saying, ‘This is great, you look amazing.’ And he follows with, ‘You look beautiful as well.’”
— Mark Elzey on photographing the artist Duane Michals
“When Tom walked in, he started dancing to my bossa nova playlist.”
— Daniel Dorsa on photographing Tom Hanks
“Slime is a star of the visual internet, and it is often depicted as a glossy, exotic substance molded into soothing shapes by well-manicured experts. In the hands of a couple of girls, it becomes a site of unbridled creative mess.”
— Amanda Hess on the phenomenon of slime
“There was all the expected emotive grace and stillness, but it sounded like a basketball practice.”
— Daniel Arnold on photographing Mikhail Baryshnikov at New York City Ballet
The cast of “The L Word: Generation Q”
“The beauty of this shoot was that essentially nothing was planned.”
— Heather Sten on photographing a pregnant Amy Schumer
Origami and “Slave Play”
“This opera was three and a half hours long. I happily shot it twice.”
— Sara Krulwich on photographing the Metropolitan Opera’s production of “Akhnaten”
“I wanted to make an image that represents what passes through all of our minds when we think of a full-body wax.”
— Victor Llorente on photographing Anthony Roth Costanzo preparing for his title role in “Akhnaten”
“The environment was lit by dragonfly stained glass lamps and softened with pillows embroidered with messages like ‘Friends Are the Best Present’ and ‘One Can Never Have Too Many Cats.’ Collins has three.”
— Amanda Hess on Judy Collins
Flea and Maggie Rogers
“You can feel her presence take space in the room. It gave me goose bumps.”
— Micaiah Carter on photographing Tilda Swinton
“It was crazy to see how many people there are behind an opera — a single mistake would mess it all up.”
— Victor Llorente on photographing backstage at the Metropolitan Opera’s “Madama Butterfly”
“It was probably the most fun party I have been to in my life.”
— Rose Marie Cromwell on photographing the Jamaican dancehall music scene
“It really felt like I was in Manhattan until I looked up and saw the palm trees blowing in the wind.”
— Brian Guido on photographing preparations for Frieze Los Angeles
“I had two objectives: first, to make memorable work and second, to not get run over.”
— Devin Yalkin on photographing an Arab Drag show in Brooklyn
“This reminded me of those in-between moments of skateboarding — lurking with your friends atop the sun drenched concrete.”
— George Etheredge on photographing skateboarders at the “Live at Olympic Stadium" event
“I fell backward moments after taking this. DaBaby caught me mid-song, midair without missing a beat.”
— Jessica Lehrman on photographing DaBaby
“We got on so well she stayed a bit longer to have a cup of tea.”
— Magdalena Wosinska on photographing Helen Mirren
“It made me want what they had — the sense of community and returning to the same places with the same music again and again.”
— Benjamin Rasmussen on photographing a Chuck Wagon Jamboree
“Her place is like the house from Hansel and Gretel.”
— Jeenah Moon on photographing the performance artist and choreographer Ann Liv Young
The cast of “Ain’t Too Proud” on Broadway
Michael Cooper covers classical music and dance. He was previously a national correspondent; a political reporter covering presidential campaigns; and a metro reporter covering the police, City Hall and Albany. @coopnytimes • Facebook
A version of this article appears in print on , Section C, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: A Thousand Words (and Then Some). Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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