Fashion and Style in Photography 2007

April 12 – May 14, 2007

Three photo-exhibitions in the context of Moscow International Festival: Fashion and Style in Photography 2007 held by Moscow Government, Moscow Committee on Culture, Moscow House of Photography Museum and European House of Photography, took place in the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation premises during April 12 – May 14, 2007.

Bruno Mouron and Pascal Rostain «Trash»

The project performed with assistance of Comstar Company

About fifteen years ago an article of the following content appeared in the newspaper Le Monde: a lecturer of sociology stated principles of his research aimed at studying of consumption and social behavior through analysis of trash-bins content.

Paparazzi Bruno Mouron and Pascal Rostain flared up with this idea that went well with their profession. They decided to "burrow in trash-bins" of their permanent clients - celebrities. So, they started with trash-bins of Brigitte Bardot, Jorg Marchais, Gerard Depardieu, then continued this adventure and experiment abroad in Los Angeles, in trash-bins of such stars as Marlon Brando, Nicholson, Madonna, Michael Jackson and even Ronald Reagan.

They acted through paparazzi techniques, but such methods are also used in sociological researches - and namely - search, collection and careful processing of wastes which constitute the raw materials source of their project. A developed in details classification of products consumed by celebrities gave possibility to cast light on the part of their lives that is hidden from eyes of strangers. In such a way, wastes, garbage, “disgusting things” about which one doesn't want to talk but wishes to get rid of were collected, arranged in certain order and photographed, and in such a way transformed into things presented for general survey.

The aim of the art, according to exhibition organizers' words, is "to recomprehend values and to change points of view". Seemingly, the exhibition allowed the visitors making some conclusions in relation to contemporary civilization of brands, marketing and signboards, thought contemplation of trash of world’s outstanding representatives.

Preface of the book "Trash" by B. Mouron and P. Rostain (TRASH de B. Mouron & P. Rostain aux Editions du Regard) was used to prepare this material.

«The Oderwill Mermaid. After the Fairy-Tale of H.C. Andersen.» by Sarah Moon

The project performed with assistance of Sony Company

Darkened hall of the Foundation is temporarily turned to an extempore movie theatre. The only illuminated from beneath objects are the black-and-white photos representing stills of silent short-length film non-stop demonstrated on the screen arranged in the middle of the room. It seems that monochrome decor of the hall and Sarah Moon project "The Oderwill Mermaid" are in organic unity. Movies forgotten a long time ago such as "The Great Dumb Man" and "Dreamworks" come back to one's memory. As Sarah Moon confessed in one of her interviews, Sergey Eisenstein was for her “an image force and visual picture discoverer".

Sarah Moon has been engaged in photography for more than thirty years, which made her famous all over the world but now she is taking a great interest in cinematograph. Plots and characters of Sarah Moon are fabulous, her main art technique is a fuzzy shot, a slipping away distinction between reality and myth which is always erased.

"The Oderwill Mermaid" completes the Sarah Moon trilogy rested on fairy-tale plots. Among her previous works there are the films "Red Line" based on the fairy-tale about the Blue Beard and "Circus" after "A Girl with Matches".

Events of the film "The Oderwill Mermaid" take place nowadays in a North marine port among docks and landing-stages, the mermaid is in love not with a fabulous prince but with a diver. Nevertheless, the famous plot has undergone little changes: this is a sad fairy-tale about unhappy love for the sake of which the mermaid changes her voice for feet and shortly after she gets to know that the very man for whom she has made such a tremendous sacrifice is in love with another woman...

Without doubt, one more visit to Moscow and the exhibition of Sarah Moon, the living legend of world photography and frequent guest of the House of Photography festivals, is an important event in the cultural life of the capital. In Moscow she already has her own spectators and admirers. The exhibition was a great success, it was visited by scopes of guests and attracted interest of different people, including youth.

Martial Cherrier "Fly Up or Die"

The project performed with assistance of Comstar Company

Who is Martial Cherrier? Some standard definitions can not be applied to this man. No matter what you call him – a photo artist, a scientist or a philosopher, all of it is equally right and equally far from the truth. He is a searching intellectual, almost in Faust style, trying to put chaos in order, reach for the essence and name all things correctly. Oh, how many times such tendencies appeared in the culture of West and East!

Now Martial Cherrier is completely occupied with phenomenon of body-builder examined by him (in his articles as well) from different points of view. Cherrier describes unexpected sides of the transformation suffered by the athlete in the process of preparation. Coming closer to the state of physical perfection, becoming more and more massive and having imparted maximum manliness to his shapes, the athlete suddenly begins to feel increasing fragility of his own body and his behavior acquires features similar to those of a woman.  Martial Cherrier reflects this mutation and its paradoxical consequences in the series "Fly up or die" having resorted to such metaphor as butterflies body builders.

These butterflies, of course, have names, a special one for each butterfly: Idergine, Vinstraul, Dinabolon, Lievotirox, Trohobolain, Parabolan, Csinomel, Gumatrope, Cleregile, Chinoselin, etc. Anyhow, such inscriptions can be seen on the wings of the "butterflies" packed into boxes by Martial Cherrier. These are the names of medicines, dopes and growth hormones which the body builder should daily take. The very mentioned pharmaceutical preparations, their package, dosage, terminology and formulation, rich rhymes given to their names and the magic of their direct influence on organism – all these play the leading role in creative work and life of Martial Cherrier.

Shortened and reviewed extracts from the extended MDF news release by Jean Ives were used to prepare this article.