Alexey Titarenko
Encyclopedia
Alexey Viktorovich Titarenko ' onMouseout='HidePop("94132")' href="/topics/Leningrad">Leningrad
, USSR, now Saint Petersburg
, Russia
) is a Soviet and Russian photographer and artist
.
His series of collages and photomontages "Nomenklatura
of Signs" (first exhibited in 1989, in Leningrad) is a commentary on the Communist
regime as an oppressive system that converts citizens into mere signs.In 1990, "Nomenklatura of Signs" was included in Photostroyka, a major show of new Soviet photography that toured the US.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union
in 1991 he produced several series of photographs about human condition of the Russian
people during this time and the suffering they have endured throughout the twentieth century. To illustrate links between the present and the past, he created powerful metaphors by introducing long exposure and intentional camera movement
into street photography
.
The most well-known series from this period is "City of Shadows," whose urban landscapes reiterate the Odessa Steps (also known as the Primorsky or Potemkin Stairs
) scene from Sergei Eisenstein
's film The Battleship Potemkin
. Inspired by the music of Dmitri Shostakovich
and the novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky
, he also translated Dostoevsky's vision of the Russian soul
into sometimes poetic, sometimes dramatic pictures of his native city, Saint Petersburg
.
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, USSR, now Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) is a Soviet and Russian photographer and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
.
Biography
At age 15, he became the youngest member of the independent photo club Zerkalo [Mirror]. He went on to graduate from the Department of Cinematic and Photographic Art at Leningrad's Institute of Culture.His series of collages and photomontages "Nomenklatura
Nomenklatura
The nomenklatura were a category of people within the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries who held various key administrative positions in all spheres of those countries' activity: government, industry, agriculture, education, etc., whose positions were granted only with approval by the...
of Signs" (first exhibited in 1989, in Leningrad) is a commentary on the Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
regime as an oppressive system that converts citizens into mere signs.In 1990, "Nomenklatura of Signs" was included in Photostroyka, a major show of new Soviet photography that toured the US.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1991 he produced several series of photographs about human condition of the Russian
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
people during this time and the suffering they have endured throughout the twentieth century. To illustrate links between the present and the past, he created powerful metaphors by introducing long exposure and intentional camera movement
Intentional camera movement
In intentional camera movement , a camera is moved during the exposure for a creative or artistic effect.The process involves the selection of an aperture and the use of filters to achieve a suitable shutter speed. Proponents experiment both with the duration of the exposure and the direction and...
into street photography
Street photography
Street photography is a type of documentary photography that features subjects in candid situations within public places such as streets, parks, beaches, malls, political conventions and other settings....
.
The most well-known series from this period is "City of Shadows," whose urban landscapes reiterate the Odessa Steps (also known as the Primorsky or Potemkin Stairs
Potemkin Stairs
The Potemkin Stairs , is a giant stairway in Odessa, Ukraine. The stairs are considered a formal entrance into the city from the direction of the sea and are the best known symbol of Odessa....
) scene from Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
's film The Battleship Potemkin
The Battleship Potemkin
The Battleship Potemkin , sometimes rendered as The Battleship Potyomkin, is a 1925 silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and produced by Mosfilm...
. Inspired by the music of Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
and the novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky was a Russian writer of novels, short stories and essays. He is best known for his novels Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov....
, he also translated Dostoevsky's vision of the Russian soul
Russian soul
The term Russian soul has been used in literature to describe Russian spirituality. The writings of many Russian writers such as Nikolai Gogol, Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky offer descriptions of the Russian soul....
into sometimes poetic, sometimes dramatic pictures of his native city, Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
.
Monographs
- Bauret, Gabriel. "Alexei Titarenko." Galerie Municipale de Chateau d'Eau, Toulouse, 2000, ISBN 2-913241-20-4
- Tchmyreva, Irina. "City of Shadows." Art-Tema, Saint Petersburg, 2001, ISBN 5-94258-005-7
- Bauret, Gabriel. "Fragments of the discourse on a photographic oevre." Nailya Alexander, Washington D.C., 2003, ISBN 0-9743991-0-8
External links
- Centre National de l'Audioviuel, Dudelange, Luxemburg
- Centre National de l'Audioviuel, Dudelange, Luxemburg
- Centre National de l'Audioviuel, Dudelange, Luxemburg
- J. P. Getty Museum of Art
- Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley, Maryland, USA
- Kenneth Woods on Alexey Titarenko and Dmitri Shostakovich's 7th Symphony
- Saint Petersburg in Four Movements exhibition
- Alexey Titarenko on ARTE TV, Le Journal de la Culture
- A Documentary "Alexey Titarenko: Art et la Maniere"