Name of Artist: Alexey Titarenko
Dates of Artist’s Life: 1962-present
1. Personal Background: (5 sentences. Culture, nationality, schooling, important life events, etc.) Alexey Titarenko was born on Vasilievsky Island in Saint Petersburg in 1962. He started taking pictures when he was nine. In 1978, he graduated from the Leningrad Public University of Society-related Professions with a degree in photojournalism, and also joined the club “Zerkalo”, which means mirror in Russian. Then, he got drafted into the Soviet Army, where he served for 18 months as an infantry soldier. After the collapse of the USSR, he took pictures that showed how some people were suffering during that time.
2. Style: (5 sentences. What visual characteristics does this artist’s work possess? If you can compare it to a painting or art history style please do.)
First of all, all of his work is done in black and white. Second, his camera has a very low shutter speed, so all moving objects in his prints are seen blurred. He also pays very close attention to light and its gradations. All of his finished prints capture all details and subtle gradations that he intends to show. He also uses his own chemicals for the negatives to achieve his own uniqueness and delicate suggestions of tone.
3. Philosophy: (5 sentences. What were the major ideas behind this artist’s work? Where they personal, political, social, etc. What were they trying to “say” with their photographs?)
When Alexey Titarenko was completing his “Nomenklatura of Signs”, he realized that after the collapse of the Soviet Union his ideas weren’t as valid as before. He saw that the streets were much emptier and not energetic, as they used to be a couple of years ago. He thought that the people looked like lost shadows, and he felt and intense urge to document it. He wanted to show the suffering, to awaken empathy in people that are experiencing the photos in his exhibit. To add an effect, his exhibits are accompanied with the 13th symphony or 2nd Cello Concerto of Shostakovitch's music.
4. Influences: (5 sentences. How has the photographer influenced you in your work?)
This photographer hasn’t influenced me in my work very much. This is because I have already taken most of my images before I found out about this artist. Unfortunately, most of the black and white images that we have taken were before, so I could only take the knowledge of black and white imagery from him very few times. What I did use was his attention to detail, because it is one of the things that stand out about this photographer. I also his sense of what to include in images, and what not to in images.
Dates of Artist’s Life: 1962-present
1. Personal Background: (5 sentences. Culture, nationality, schooling, important life events, etc.) Alexey Titarenko was born on Vasilievsky Island in Saint Petersburg in 1962. He started taking pictures when he was nine. In 1978, he graduated from the Leningrad Public University of Society-related Professions with a degree in photojournalism, and also joined the club “Zerkalo”, which means mirror in Russian. Then, he got drafted into the Soviet Army, where he served for 18 months as an infantry soldier. After the collapse of the USSR, he took pictures that showed how some people were suffering during that time.
2. Style: (5 sentences. What visual characteristics does this artist’s work possess? If you can compare it to a painting or art history style please do.)
First of all, all of his work is done in black and white. Second, his camera has a very low shutter speed, so all moving objects in his prints are seen blurred. He also pays very close attention to light and its gradations. All of his finished prints capture all details and subtle gradations that he intends to show. He also uses his own chemicals for the negatives to achieve his own uniqueness and delicate suggestions of tone.
3. Philosophy: (5 sentences. What were the major ideas behind this artist’s work? Where they personal, political, social, etc. What were they trying to “say” with their photographs?)
When Alexey Titarenko was completing his “Nomenklatura of Signs”, he realized that after the collapse of the Soviet Union his ideas weren’t as valid as before. He saw that the streets were much emptier and not energetic, as they used to be a couple of years ago. He thought that the people looked like lost shadows, and he felt and intense urge to document it. He wanted to show the suffering, to awaken empathy in people that are experiencing the photos in his exhibit. To add an effect, his exhibits are accompanied with the 13th symphony or 2nd Cello Concerto of Shostakovitch's music.
4. Influences: (5 sentences. How has the photographer influenced you in your work?)
This photographer hasn’t influenced me in my work very much. This is because I have already taken most of my images before I found out about this artist. Unfortunately, most of the black and white images that we have taken were before, so I could only take the knowledge of black and white imagery from him very few times. What I did use was his attention to detail, because it is one of the things that stand out about this photographer. I also his sense of what to include in images, and what not to in images.
Alexey Titarenko's Images
5.
Chrysler Building
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New York Public Library
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Fire Alarm Box, Little Italy
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My Images
6. Compare and Contrast: You will need to compare and contrast your final 3 images with the 3 images you choose by your photographer. Write about each piece (5 sentence.)First of all, all of his images are black and white, so I made mine black and white too. In the first image (Building), Alexey’s clouds are natural, and he took a picture of The Chrysler Building. In my image, however, I had to make the clouds in Photoshop, and because we don’t live in New York, I had to use a different building. For the second image (Public Library), Titarenko had a much wider space with classic buildings in the background. In my image, I couldn’t find a wide place with similar chairs and tables, so I had to take a picture of a more narrow space, with buildings being much farther in my background. I also had to replace his trees with umbrellas. For the third image (Fire Alarm Box), he has what looks like and apartment building on the left of the intersection. I have a house, but I did find a place with a tree in the correct place, and even a lamp to substitute for his fire alarm box.
7. Personal Artist Statement: Your images should tell a story. In 5 sentences tell me about your image.
When you look at the images that I replicated, I think they look sad. This is because they are black and white. The story the images kind of tell is you are returning home after a long day (at work or school), and encounter these places, but they seem black and white to you because it was a long day. I think the building looks especially sad. The tables with the chairs look the most cheerful to me.
When you look at the images that I replicated, I think they look sad. This is because they are black and white. The story the images kind of tell is you are returning home after a long day (at work or school), and encounter these places, but they seem black and white to you because it was a long day. I think the building looks especially sad. The tables with the chairs look the most cheerful to me.