Today’s post is all about Russia. Why? Because I adore the blog English Russia, whose tag line is “Because something cool happens daily on 1/6 of the Earth’s surface.” And what’s not to love? The blog has a quirky sensibility. Awkward English. Images of long lines and emerging punk fashion in Soviet and post-Soviet days. And photos of giant fish at Chernobyl.
Of course, English Russia isn’t the only one documenting contemporary Russia. Photographer Andy Freeburg’s marvelous Guardians series documents the workdays of the little old ladies who guard the art at national museums. His artist statement sounds earnest and sweet–
In the art museums of Russia, women sit in the galleries and guard the collections. When you look at the paintings and sculptures, the presence of the women becomes an inherent part of viewing the artwork itself. I found the guards as intriguing to observe as the pieces they watch over. In conversation they told me how much they like being among Russia’s great art. A woman in Moscow’s State Tretyakov Gallery Museum said she often returns there on her day off to sit in front of a painting that reminds her of her childhood home. Another guard travels three hours each way to work, since at home she would just sit on her porch and complain about her illnesses, “as old women do.” She would rather be at the museum enjoying the people watching, surrounded by the history of her country.
–but the photographs themselves are more than a little sly: many of the women look bored or asleep.
Leaving the quaint old ladies to Freeburg, another photographer, Anna Skladmann, has taken it upon herself to document the lives of Russian children. Wealthy Russian children, that is. Her Little Adults series captures the offspring of the nouveau-riche in their gaudy homes and garish outfits, looking, well, like little adults. It’s creepy. I can’t look away.
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