Translated from Greek, "photography" means "light painting" - the ability to paint with light. Catching the desired angle, building the composition correctly, seeing the finished drawing in the interweaving of light and shadow - all this requires talent and skill. Photography is deservedly called "the poetry of artistic creation." For two decades, Russian art photography has been home - the Art Museum Multimedia, Moscow.
Start and development
The first exhibition complex in Russia specializing exclusively in photography was opened in Moscow in 1996. The initiator, soul and main devotee of the project was Olga Sviblova, an art critic, cultural expert and director of documentaries on contemporary art. A few months after the foundation, the Moscow House of Photography became a real cultural center, where exhibitions were held, permanent exhibitions worked, and several thousand rare photographs were stored in storage rooms.
With the development of modern technologies, the House of Photography has significantly expanded its range of activities - they began to conduct video performances, exhibit installations, demonstrate projects in the style of no-art and experimental works of young masters. Such a significant expansion of activities led to the transformation of the Moscow House of Photography into a multimedia complex of contemporary arts, or MAMM - Multimedia Art Museum. Moscow has always been supportive of the latest trends in art, so the transformation of Olga Sviblova’s brainchild from a small exposition into a museum and cultural center was not accidental and quite logical.
History in the focus of art
Today, the funds of the complex include more than 80, 000 exhibits. The storage department is the holy of holies of the museum, it contains unique historical photographs, works by eminent masters of the past and the best photos of contemporary artists. The earliest daguerreotypes are dated 1850. At that time, they still did not talk about photography as an art. Enthusiastic about the new business, engineers were just beginning to search for the best methods of transferring images to metal plates or paper. Such exhibits require special conditions, careful storage and professional handling, so the presence of mid-19th century photographs in collections is the best indicator of a museum’s high level.
Contemporary art of photography
The Multimedia Art Museum (Moscow) collaborates with many museums and galleries. Joint exhibitions and themed exhibitions are often held here. Over the past decade, the museum has held nearly 2, 000 exhibitions, the participants of which were the best masters of world photography. It demonstrated the works of classical art classics - Alexander Rodchenko, Anatoly Egorov, Georgy Petrusov, Helmut Newton, Gyul Halas and many others. On seven museum floors, 5-7 expositions are simultaneously displayed, each with its own theme, direction and “highlight”.
Several times a year, the museum provides its halls for exhibitions of talented young photographers. For many of them, participating in the projects held by the museum is a true recognition of talent, the opening of new opportunities and prospects.
Community projects
The exhibition complex has always focused on large-scale events. Art connoisseurs of photography know that all exhibitions organized by the Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow, are held at a high world level.
“Photobiennale” or “Months of World Photography” is a well-known project. It is regularly organized by the Multimedia Art Museum (Moscow). The Moscow festival once every two years brings together the best photography masters from around the world. The program is so extensive that expositions are held not only in the museum, but also at various exhibition venues in Moscow.
The Fashion and Style in Photography festival is the second major project that has been successfully implemented by the Art Museum Multimedia for more than 10 years. Moscow during the festival hosts several thousand promising young artists, eminent photographers and installation masters. The festival programs include more than 30 exhibitions of various subjects, united by one idea. “Between reality and imagination”, “Beauty is a source of inspiration”, “People of the world” - there are no uninteresting topics, each festival is a small study of the trends of the modern fashion industry and the role of photography in art.
School of Photography
The only place in the capital where you can get classical knowledge of art photography, learn to understand the play of light and shadow, build the frame correctly is the Multimedia Art Museum. Moscow offers many educational programs, but only at MAMM you can attend the school of photography at the same time, listen to author's lectures, take courses for beginner photographers and take part in master classes.
School them. Alexandra Rodchenko is the museum’s strongest socially significant project. Anyone can learn the art of photography here - the school has a budget department. For admission, just bring a portfolio and go through an interview. It trains professional photographers, artists, specialists in the field of multimedia, video art and documentary photography.
