Now on display at DAAP: 'Posteriors: Sitters’ Backs in 19th-Century Photographs'
A "cheeky" photography exhibit on display at DAAP through Nov. 2
In conjunction with the FotoFocus biennial celebration, a photography exhibit — Posteriors: Sitters’ Backs in 19th-Century Photographs — is now on display at the College of Design Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP).
The exhibit, located outside of the DAAP library, runs through Nov. 2.
Unknown photographer, Bicycle Girl Going, ca. 1880s . Photo provided.
“While some of these photographs are amusing visual jokes, others are sentimental, documenting fleeting youth, beauty and social bonds,” says curator Theresa Leininger-Miller, professor of art history at DAAP.
The collection of approximately 120 photography items has been referred to as “cheeky” — for the bare and clothed backsides — Leininger-Miller says, noting that taking imagery from behind became an international fad between 1860-1900.
As exposure times became quicker and photography became more affordable, customers were less concerned with recording social status and more interested in collaborating with photographers to create playful scenes, she says.
FotoFocus is a Cincinnati based nonprofit organization created to celebrate and champion photography as the medium of our time through programming that ignites a dialogue between contemporary lens-based art and the history of photography.
Feature photo of exhibit by UC student An Le.
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
CCM welcomes new violin faculty member Danbi Um
April 29, 2026
UC College-Conservatory of Music Dean Pete Jutras has announced the appointment of Danbi Um as CCM's new Assistant Professor of Violin. Her faculty appointment officially begins in August 2026. Praised by The Strad as an “utterly dazzling” artist, with “a marvelous show of superb technique” and “mesmerizing grace” (New York Classical Review), Um captivates audiences with her virtuosity, individual sound and interpretive sensitivity.
CCM welcomes new piano faculty member Liza Stepanova
April 28, 2026
UC College-Conservatory of Music Dean Pete Jutras has announced the appointment of Liza Stepanova, DMA, as CCM's new Associate Professor of Piano. Her faculty appointment officially begins on Aug. 15, 2026. Praised by The New York Times for her "thoughtful musicality" and "fleet-fingered panache," Stepanova is in demand as a soloist, collaborator and educator.
Rethinking belonging through the University of Cincinnati Garden of Refuge initiative
April 24, 2026
A UC graduate student uses art and research to explore migration, belonging and community through the Garden of Refuge initiative.