As part of the 10th International Photography Month in Moscow Photobiennale-2014, the Museum of Multimedia Arts in Moscow (MAMM) is presenting a retrospective of the eminent Russian photographer and theorist Alexander Lapin (1945-2012).
Lapin’s work can be found in the Pushkin Art Museum in Moscow, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington and several other galleries and private collections. He took part in exhibitions across the globe: Russia, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, America and elsewhere. For five years, from 1992 to 1997, Lapin was a member of the government committee which gave out awards to artists on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation.
Lapin was a brilliant historian of photography and possessed deep knowledge of the foundations of classical composition. This technical virtuosity can be seen in work, where he shows that he knows the rules and also knows how to break them.
The early 1980s was a time of stagnation, but the feeling of a coming change was already in the air. Despite the simplicity of his subjects, Lapin was able to express this time period in a persuasive and metaphorical way and show it like no other.
The word “photography” calls to mind above all the magic of light. The Russian language uses a variant on the Greek word: svetopis, meaning “to paint with light.” Lapin used light to created the dynamic and interior tension of his photographs. It would be unlikely to find this same cold and detached light in the work of another Russian photographer. Each of the photographs is valuable in itself. Each one is an existential discourse devoid of any critical thinking or emotion.
Lapin was also an excellent teacher. His students included Igor Moukhine, Guennadi Bodrov, Alexander Sorine and Pavel Smertine. Photography was the great passion of his life. He shared it generously with his friends and students. Lapin wrote two classic textbooks on photography.
