moscow art critic andrey kovalev
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Alexei Shulgin / Sergei Leontiev (1963, Moscow; 1965, Moscow) Title project: "Let God save the beggars". Location: Different places in the centre of Mgscow 

Once Shulgin, a photographer, shocked by a tremendous flow of pictures invading the world, realized all his attempts to make anything like traditional «art photography» was in vain. That's why he put his camera aside and started making «alien photographs». In his previous work he used either old photo's or official industrial movies. Recently he borrowed some unused and rejected films from his photographing friends. He made prints of it and exhibited the results under his name, presenting himself as a photo-artist. From his point of view a gesture like this keeps the artist''s individuality in the bacchalia of post-modem cleptomania and...

In his project for «Exchange» Shulgin planned to focus on Moscow's poor population, that is not guilty at all for being frustrated about being dependent on gifts. The mental and physical body of Moscow is schizophrenized as a result of the capitalist invasion. The pathetic text of the capital of the empire of evil is illustrated with symbols of consumerism and post-industrial economics - coca cola advertising is placed on a Stalinist house in former Gorky-street, along which luxurious cars carry the russian nouveau riche. This nouveau riche has changed their numenklatura black volga's for a mercedeses recently. Shulgin uses one of such symbols in his project of the west bus stops, which are made of glass. These bus stops are placed in the streets of Moscow by a German company, to replace the former metal monsters that were covered with a thick layer of paint in the colour of human flesh. Shulgin placed huge colour-pictures (by Leontev) of the Moscow homeless in the advertisement-places. These shocking social photographs are presented in a Western design. Just imagine the reaction of the Moscow audience to this soft socio-artistic provocation.

 

Andey Kovalev - [email protected], [email protected]

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