Boris Mikhailov: The Hasselblad Award 2000

Mikhailov, Boris

Code: 2099

ISBN: 9783908247425

Publisher: Scalo

New Hardcover First Edition, Signed by the photographer

Price: £50

Out of stock

Boris Mikhailov: The Hasselblad Award 2000 Published by Scalo, 2001 Signed Hard Cover From Library Journal Joining the likes of Cindy Sherman, Robert Frank, and William Eggleston, Mikhailov received the prestigious Hasselblad Award in 2000 for a body of work that spans from the heart of the Cold War to post-Soviet Ukrainian society. His haunting images often touch on the artifice of modern life but are mostly documentary in content and style, and he is best known in the United States, at least for images of decaying civilization during the years under and just after Soviet rule (see, for instance, Unfinished Dissertation and Case Study). So the 1978 series of dreamy photographs reproduced here at first seems unrepresentative, showing happy couples dancing an afternoon away in a large communal courtyard. While neither the four-page essay nor the six-page interview focuses on this series, they do help the reader to understand Mikhailov's motivations here and in the more brooding work and to create ties between them. General collections might wait for a more complete retrospective of this talented photographer's work, but art and photography collections should add this small gem. Eric Bryant, Library Journal Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. This past year Boris Mikhailov joined the ranks of William Eggleston, Cindy Sherman, and Robert Frank as the recipient of the prestigious Hasselblad Award, confirming the international stature and critical acclaim he has earned in the last few years with one-person exhibitions at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, London's Photographer's Gallery, and the DAAD Gallery in Berlin as well as representation in major international surveys such as the Carnegie International. His first book, Unfinished Dissertation, was published by Scalo in 1997, on the occasion of his receipt of the Albert Renger-Patzsch Prize; in 2000, he published his second book with Scalo, Case History, and was awarded the photo book award of the International Festival for Photography in Arles, France. Mikhailov also recently accepted an invitation to teach at Harvard University beginning in the fall of 2000. This new book contains a never-before published series of work from the early 1980s: Mikhailov photographed ''The Dancers'' in his hometown in the Ukraine during a period when the former Soviet Union was a reality, before the appearance of Gorbachov and perestroika. We observe the open-air dancing scene with great astonishment; seeing older and younger people enjoy themselves in a way that might be contradictory to the images we might have about everyday life in the old Soviet Union. These cheerful images remind us how little women and men need to have a good time. An essay by Russian art critic Boris Groys and an exhaustive interview make this volume a must have for readers and libraries interested in contemporary art and photography. Hardcover, 144 pages, 9 x 10 inches, 65 duotone illustrations.