My Multimedia Art Museum Discoveries

Yuri Shpagin from Nizhniy Novgorod: «Two» (1985)

Sergei Vasilyev from Chelyabinsk: «Man was Born» Series (1980's)

Dmitri Skornyakov from Yoshkar-Ola: «Sitting on beautiful hill…» (1994) 

Multimedia Art Museum

The renamed museum of Moscow House of Photography located in the Golden Mile of Moscow is a creatively versatile space that is a must-see for photography lovers. The current exhibitions on display are black-and-whites by Spanish photographer Chema Madoz, «Forests and People» celebrating the international year of forests and, finally, a unique traveling display of «More than Fashion» featuring such in-vogue masters as Lachapel, Avedon andToscani. Here are a few shots from the exhibitions:

Chema Madoz is a photographer fascinated with the simplicity and beauty of everyday objects, turning them into eccentric curiosities and meaningful concepts:

«Forest and People» is a breathtaking collection of on-site and aerial shots of world's most beautiful natural landscapes that are threatened to extinction by the industrial corporations seeking profit:

«More than Fashion» is an exhibit celebrating the talent of renown fashion photographers:

 Armin Morbach

Richard Avedon

Saul Leiter

Erwin Blumenfeld 

Multimedia Art Museum: 16 Ostozhenka Street, Moscow

El Secreto de sus Ojos

El Secreto de sus Ojos (dir. Juan Jose Campanella) is a film that makes a knock, no a pound, on the gates of your mind, body and soul. It sends a shiver down your spine and makes you question everything from the basic human nature fundamentals to the concepts of political integrity and whether law and punishment should ever be taken into the hands of the justified. The film opens up with a man struggling to finish his book, the plot of which is based on Morales’ case closed many years back.  The scene of murder touches the heart of the usually rational federal agent Esposito, who through the years of investigation and dealing with the government corruption still cannot grant the grieving widower the promise that his wife's murderer would never roam free. I do not want to give away all the details of the film as it is truly a gem of Argentinean cinema, winning an Oscar for the Best Foreign Film at the 82nd Academy Award. This movie has been my most treasured discovery in the recent years, winning in plot, cast and overall mind-tickling intensity. Do yourself a favor and add it to your Netflix queue!

Trailer:

Muzeon

Another spot worth visiting in Moscow is the sculpture park called Muzeon. The park located on the bank of Moscow River adjacent to the Central House of Arts (Центральный Дом Художника) is literaly a promenade made entirely of lush greenery and multitude of modern art sculptures as well as the monuments of the past. It is a culturally rich place that is at once educational and incredibly peaceful. I have seen a few art students snapping pictures for inspiration as well as proud parents taking their strollers out, sitting in the shadow on the bench. Here are a few photographs I took to give you the overall feel for this creative piece of urban heaven:

Ces amours-là

Ces amours-là (What War May Bring) is a charming love story set against the backdrop of war-torn Europe. In this case, love is not a single story of romance but a lifetime of a woman that unfolds before our eyes. It is a story of survival, conviction and compassion. It is a moment in each woman’s life when she wants to look back and recount the pains and pleasures she experienced, to look at the faces of the men who touched her life. The music in this film gently guides us through the five stories of Ilva’s (Audrey Dana) dramatic affairs and hints at Claude Lelouch’s autobiographical undertones celebrating his 50 years of filmmaking. 

The movie applauds a woman in her passionate freedom to love and be loved in the time of despotic political regime and war-beaten morale. Although the intentions in unfolding this intricate story of survival were there, they somehow fell short of delivering the message loud and clear and, instead, tiptoed around all the major historical turning points. We all know that sleeping with a SS officer in captive France was a big no-no and women were shaved bold, beaten and ridiculed by the crowds. We also know that romances happening between American soldiers and local ladies of loose morale rarely came into fruition as the war came to an end. The movie is irritating in its ability to somehow touch on all the dark concepts and history yet also steer clear of ever exploring them in depth or pay them any credit in shaping the main characters.  Besides the magical musical accompaniment, the film is full of superficial, unrealistic and blasé interchanges that are simply yawn-worthy. For a director as famous and talented as Claude Lelouch, you have to pick your battles. If you explore the theme of war-torn Europe, make it real – show us gut-wrenching depth of suffering and its effect on the relationships of people and, please, do not skim over it as though it was some insignificant background nuance. Otherwise, do us all a favor and choose some other time period and really focus on it.  Do not get me wrong – it is not meant to be a historical movie and I do not evaluate it as such. However, it still has to honor the true sentiment of the time once it decides to use it as it backdrop. Not a bad film for a rainy night in but nothing extraordinary to explore otherwise.

Trailer:

The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography, Moscow

Visiting Moscow for the past month and running around like a shameless tourist, I thought it would be interesting to share my favorite places for creative inspiration. The first on my list is a relatively new “The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography” located on the territory of the famous “Red October” Chocolate Factory. The center began working on March 4, 2010 and includes a moderately-sized exhibition hall, photography gallery, lecture hall, library with adjacent café and an art store. From what I understand so far, the museum’s main focus will remain on highlighting the work of Russian and Soviet Photographers and their recounts of nation’s rich legacy and history.

But general information aside, I want to give you a sneak peak of what you will witness if you are ever in the city of czarist golden domes and breathtakingly white winters. The particular exhibition featured below is called “Moscow Stories - XX Century (1900-1960’s)” The photography exhibition collected over the past 10 years by the museum’s curators features the work by various Russian and Soviet artists zooming in on architecture and casual portraits of the nation at the great time of change:

                                       Red Square and Kremlin 

                           (end of XIX – beginning XX century)

                                                    Petr Pavlov

                  Cabs and Cars on Teatralnaya Square (1935)

                                              Arkady Shaikhet

                                 Victory Parade on Red Square 

            Color bearers with the prostrated fascist flags (1945)

                                              Mikhail Trakhman

 Weekend on Red Square (1950’s)

Yury Krivonosov

And my favorite:

“Echos of childhood” (1957)

Leonid Lazarev

The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography

Bolotnaya Naberejnaya, house 3, building 1

Moscow, Russia

http://lumiere.ru

La Meglio Gioventù

As I was spending my summer days in Moscow, I came across a Russian screening of “La Meglio Gioventu” and for the third time, I was enthralled, unable to take my eyes or my attention off the screen. This Italian movie made in 2003 and running for exactly 366 minutes is an incredible series, encompassing forty years of the lives of two brothers Carati. The film by Marco Tullio Giordana starring Luigi Lo Cascio (Nicola) and Alessio Boni (Matteo) is a Roman epic of love, revolution and political reform. Nicola and Mateo are brothers who are as different as day and night, one hopeful and idealistic and another introverted and brooding. As the world unfolds before them in violent shifts, they are forced to face their greatest fears, those of their own weaknesses and identities. They are pushed apart and pulled together through decades of history, intertwining with the lives of others, pushing boundaries and challenging dreams. The story unfolds like a novel with characters you can relate to and love by the end of the film. You laugh and celebrate their victories and cry the tears of mourning as they hit the ultimate low. I believe that this movie cannot possibly leave anyone unaffected and stays with you years after, making you want to see it again and discover something new…perhaps about yourself… 

Trailer: