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influences
Two most remarkable communities I felt proud to be a member of were
Parallax Photo Club in Zelenograd Arts Palace led by Sergey Zhukovsky,
and Photo Workshop of "Free Academy" led by Ilya Piganov.
Sergey was a person who gave me the understanding of what
composition is. I can't say I was a talented student, considering
the actual result, but my ability to see the form in works of others
definitely came from his "guidance". It wasn't any kind of a traditional
training, just a form of creativity, in the presence of a talented person
who can see it for what it is.
Mr. Piganov opened my eyes, as well as most Academy students', to what the
world of modern Russian and international art of photography is. We looked
at and talked about many works by modern artists and no doubt,
widened our understanding of what photography and the modern
art process really are. We organized exhibitions unbelievably often,
and it was incredibly entertaining for everyone involved.
Beside these two men, my perception of reality and "still life" was largely
affected by Igor Mukhin. Igor is one of few people I know who usually uses only
small cameras. From my memory, he used a LOMO-compact, 35 mm Minox,
Contax (T2 ?).
I've got a picture in my mind and a soul sense of composition; a sense of
things frozen in time. I see technique and composition near perfection in
the immediacy of his works with his accentuated carelessness for technical
details. Just from conversations with him, I was led to an understanding
that photography is not a picture, it is a feeling, a stopped moment in
history, a game with time. Well, it's good if at the same time, it is
restored in perfect form.
I must also mention indirect influences, one of which is Henri Cartier-Bresson.
His works were exhibited several times in Moscow, while I "studied"
photography. I had to explain more than once to others what perfect composition
is - by covering some details on his pictures and asking to
imagine a picture without this detail. The integrity of the image was
usually destroyed and lost all meaning.
I am forever grateful for having a chance to meet these people and follow
in their footsteps.
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