PPRC Photography Project:
Russian St. Louis
January 19 – March 14, 2010
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This PPRC Photography Project portrays the images captured by members of St. Louis's Russian immigrant community. The group met for ten weeks to study digital photography and discuss their photographs, which capture what it is to be Russian in St. Louis.
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Words from Ron Laboray, Artist and Photography Project Instructor
Conducting a PPRC Photography Project has always provided me with the opportunity to meet interesting groups of people. Participants in the Russian St. Louis Photography Project stand out as lively, determined and internationally astute. They expressed strong, if diverse, opinions and showed a desire to create stronger bonds between Russians living in St. Louis. Our group met for ten weeks to study digital photography and discuss how their photographs reflect what it is like to be Russian in St. Louis. St. Louis’s Russian immigrant community, of just under 17,000, is made up of a population that differs in religion, ethnicity, and geographical origin. Since the mid 20th century Russians have relocated to different neighborhoods throughout St. Louis city and county, while working in an equally broad range of professions. Russia’s great diversity, strong work ethic and tight knit families have kept many Russian St. Louisans busy with their own lives. To quote Dmitri Kabargin, a participant in this Photography Project and President of the Greater St. Louis—Samara Sister City Committee, “It is amazing how people who emigrate from a country as huge as Russia do not get connected with each other and do not build a strong community in a small city like St. Louis. There are a lot of small groups, small Russian communities, within St Louis but there is no one place where you can learn about all of them. Projects like this let people know about each other and helps build a stronger community.”
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In class, we looked at images taken by professional photographers. Sally Mann and Nan Golden are examples of photographers that turn their cameras on themselves, their family and home life. We also studied the pictures of Gordon Parks and Robert Frank who reflected on the community at large. Our classroom discussions focused on formal elements of composition, subject matter, and lighting. However we would also discuss the value of the culturally significant information within the participant’s photographs. An important concern of the group was showing Russian tradition without relying on the more standard clichés in popular culture. We found images that included humor, beauty and unexpected moments could avoid cultural stereotypes.
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The issue of how to use photography to explore proud Russian traditions while also documenting the global contemporary culture among St. Louis’s Russian population is demonstrated in the wide range of photographs each participant chose to take. A Russian point of view is clearly shown in some photographs, while others focus on a strictly personal perspective or on pure artistry. Dmitri Kabargin and his wife Anna’s connection to the Russian community allowed them access to Russian World War II veterans, weddings and work sites. Dmitri’s camera passed through different hands in the community capturing a long workday, a game of billiards, or a special dinner. Evelina Yulianova and Olena Zhadko focused on family and church, where as Anastasia Korshunova turned the camera onto herself. In her Self-portrait, Anastasia celebrates her upcoming motherhood and finds beauty in a stew of strawberries. In Lady Bug, Evelina captures an intimate portrait of her grandmother. Elena Gracheva and her son Ivan Komarov found special moments of humor and beauty in the simple aspects of their daily routine. In Fish Tank, Ivan noticed the chance beauty of the light emitted from his aquarium at night. Mars Chekhovskay took an artful tact in beautiful but unexpected images of neighborhoods in St. Louis. Her image News at Night uses the reflections of traffic lights in rain puddles while insisting the viewer feels the still air after a nighttime rain. Aida Gabitova reveals a sly photographic point of view in Soldier, where a camouflaged uniform plays off the rigid geometry of frames at an outside art fair.
We finished the Photography Project with a home cooked lunch of traditional Russian food and wonderful port wine. The food and stories we shared added to my understanding of what is truly important about their images. The warmth of tradition and family permeates their lives and in turn everything they photograph. Over the last few months, no matter where the camera was pointed the resulting images seem honest, sophisticated and utterly Russian.
— Ron Laboray, Artist and Photography Project Instructor
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Exhibit Details:
PPRC Photography Project Gallery, January 19 – March 14, 2010
(South hall, fourth floor, Social Science/Business Building at UMSL)
Info. 314-516-5273 • Website: http://pprc.umsl.edu
Gallery hours: daily 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Opening Reception: January 19, noon to 1 p.m.
Gallery talk with Russian St. Louis participants, Photography Project director, Mel Watkin, instructor Ron Laboray and Dmitri Kabargin, President of the Greater St Louis-Samara Sister Cities Committee
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Astoria Restaurant: January 26 – March 14, 2010
12949 Olive Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63141 (Arcade Plaza at Olive & Fee Fee)
Info. 314-878-7711 • Website:stpatrickcenter.org/McMurphysGrill.aspx
Hours: Tues. – Friday 11 - 2 p.m., Tues. – Thurs. 5 - 9 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 5 – 11 p.m.
Opening Reception: January 26, 5:30 - 7 p.m.
Gallery talk with Russian St. Louis participants, Photography Project director, Mel Watkin, instructor Ron Laboray and Dmitri Kabargin, President of the Greater St Louis-Samara Sister Cities Committee
Special Thanks:
This PPRC Photography Project exhibition was made possible by the Public Policy Research Center, the Missouri Arts Council (a state agency), the Regional Art Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. Special thanks to Advertiser’s Printing, Inc., Forest Park Community College for their donation of classroom space, Dmitri Kabargin and The Greater St. Louis-Samara Sister Cities Committee, and Svetlana Podrabinok and her husband, owners of Astoria Restaurant.
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