Boris Mikhailov (photographer)
Encyclopedia
Fine art photography
Fine art photography refers to photographs that are created in accordance with the creative vision of the photographer as artist. Fine art photography stands in contrast to photojournalism, which provides a visual account for news events, and commercial photography, the primary focus of which is to...
who has been described as one of the most important artists to have emerged from the former USSR. He was twice nearly imprisoned by the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
.
Life and work
Born in the former Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, he lived and worked for several decades in his hometown Kharkiv, Ukraine. He received an education as an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and started to teach himself the practice of photography. Today he is one of the most successful and well-known photographers, who already was actively working in soviet times. His work very much is influenced in the means of Concept-Art and social documentary photography. At the end of the 1960s he had his first exhibition. After the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
found nude pictures of his wife he was set off his job as an engineer and started to full-time work with photography. He shot a series of everyday-life scenes-documentation. His most famous work during this period (1968–1975) was the "Red Serie". In these photographs he mainly used the colour red, to picture people, groups and city-life. Red is the color standing for October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, political party and the social system of soviet society. It is often said, that within those works critical elements toward the existing political circumstances can be found.
In his work Klebrigkeit (1982) he added explaining notes, or he is using diary-like writings. As an important part of contemporary art are considered his works "Case History". Here he examines the consequences of the breakdown of the Soviet Union for the people living there. Therefore he systematically took pictures of homeless people, who soon started trusting him. More than 500 photographs show the situation of people, who after the breakdown of the Soviet Union were not able to catch hold in a secured social system. In a very direct way Mikhailov points out his critique against the "mask of beauty" of the uprising post-soviet capitalistic
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
way of life. It is one of the best works found within social documentary photography.
In 2004 Boris Mikhailov exhibited a first series of Berlin. Again his attention is drawn to people living at the edge of society.
Selected solo exhibitions
- 2006: Bereznitsky Gallery, Berlin, Moments/Monuments
- 2006: Shugoarts, Tokyo, Yesterday's Sandwich
- 2005: Galerie Ilka Bree, Bordeaux, Butterbrot
- 2005: Centre de la Photographie, Geneve, Look at me I look at Water
- 2004: Palau de la Virreina, Barcelona
- 2004: Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin, In the Street
- 2004: Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston MA
- 2003: Fotomuseum Winterthur, Private Freuden, lastende Langweile, öffentlicher Zerfall - eine Retrospective
- 2002: Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York, The Insulted and the Injured
- 2001: Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Case History&Heiner Müller Project
- 2001: Saatchi Gallery, London
Selected collective exhibitions
- 2009: "Ca me touche", les invités de Nan Goldin, at Les Rencontres d'Arles festival, France.
Literature
- 1995 Boris Michaijlov, Stuttgart
- 1998 Unfinished Dissertation, Zürich
- 2000 Michajlov: The Hasselblad Award 2000
- 2003 Eine Retrospktive, Zürich
- 2004 Look at me I look at water, Göttingen
Awards
- 1997 Albert Renger-Patzsch Buchpreis
- 1996 Award of Coutts Contemporary Art Foundation, Switzerland
- 2000 Auszeichnung der Hasselblad-Stiftung, Sweden
- 2001 Citibank Fotografie-Preis
- 2001 Foto-Buchpreis der Krazna-Krausz-Stiftung, London (Kraszna-Krausz Book Award)
- 2011 The Wedding, Mörel Books