An exhibition and an accompanying book written by his grandson aim to show how Alexander Rodchenko revolutionized the art of photography.
Alexander Lavrentyev was barely two years old when his grandfather died, but when asked to describe his impact on Soviet society, Lavrentyev becomes a man of many words.
"He influenced people in various ways", Lavrentyev said in an interview Wednesday. "The '20s, of course, were difficult years – to say nothing of the '30s – and at this dawning of a new era, he took many wonderful photographs. He had an impact on both viewers and other photographers. He gave them completely new sensations".
Lavrentyev's famous forebear was Alexander Rodchenko, the artist, designer and photographer who was one of the leading figures in the Constructivist movement. Since his death 50 years ago, Lavrentyev and his family have dedicated much time and care to chronicling Rodchenko's life and documenting his works.
Now, Lavrentyev – himself a photographer and art historian – has written a book and helped organize an exhibition to highlight his grandfather's contributions to the art of photography. Both the book and exhibition are called "Alexander Rodchenko: Photography Is Art".
The exhibition, which opened Wednesday in the Central Manezh Exhibition Hall, includes such well-known works as his photo collage of Vladimir Mayakovsky and posters for the 1924 documentary "Kino-Eye". But it also includes less prominent works that Lavrentyev hopes will offer a fresh look at the man behind the lens.
The idea for the commemorative project began two years ago when Lavrentyev was working on a Rodchenko project connected to the First Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art. "We were choosing photographs and saving the negatives when we realized that there were many works that had not been shown to the public before", he said.
Lavrentyev began working with the Moscow House of Photography to display the works in an exhibition. "We decided it was going to go under the thematic heading of 'Photography Is Art' ", he said. "That is, it's not all just photo reportage. So we wanted to show what, exactly, turns photos into art".
When asked what he thought that ingredient was, Lavrentyev offered, “It's the wealth of tones, the ability to show something from another angle".
In parallel with his work on the exhibition, Lavrentyev compiled the accompanying book, working with Olga Sviblova, the director of the Moscow House of Photography.
On Monday, the book was unveiled by the publishing arm of Interros. In recent years, Interros has released a series of art books on topics ranging from Soviet film to the Moscow metro. Its newest book is a 480-page compilation that contains Rodchenko's photo collages, portaits of his friends and those close to him, as well as excerpts from his diary, a chronology of his life and an afterword by Sviblova.
The book's first part focuses on Rodchenko's experimental works, including collages from his early years and from the Novy Lef magazine, where he worked. The second part contains signature works that are better known to the general public: black-and-white shots of subjects ranging from Soviet parades on Red Square to laborers toiling on canals, taken from unexpected angles that jar the viewer.
Lavrentyev admitted that much of his book was based on research, rather than firsthand knowledge, since he had been so young when his grandfather died. From reading books about Rodchneko, Lavrentyev pieced together a picture of a quiet man of few words whose interests ranged far beyond photography. For instance, he was a lover of writing and literature who counted the French author Anatole France, winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize for Literature, as one of his favorite writers.
Lavrentyev added that his grandfather was constantly writing himself. "They say every time my grandfather started, he just couldn't stop", Lavrentyev said, laughing quietly at the thought. "He wrote such big, long pieces".
"Alexander Rodchenko: Photography Is Art" (Alexander Rodchenko: Fotografiya -- Iskusstvo) runs to Nov. 29 at the Central Manezh Exhibition Hall, located at 1 Manezh Square. Metro Okhotny Ryad.
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