Around 60 images of a Russian-American dancer and choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov, known as one of the greatest ballet dancers in history, will premiere in Moscow this November.
The exhibition features Robert Whitman and Mikhail Baryshnikov’s five artistic encounters from 1990s to 2015. The series include Perfume campaign shoot (1995); rehearsal with a master choreographer Merce Cunningham at American Ballet Theatre (1999); Baryshnikov usual classes (2002) and exercise; and the most recent commissioned shooting for AS IF Magazine.
The exhibition will also reveal contact sheets of each series showing behind-the-scenes shooting process.
Poet Joseph Brodsky was a lifelong friend once said of Baryshnikov’s, and once said of him: “When I see Baryshnikov on stage, it’s a stunning sensation. I even think that’s not really even ballet, what he is doing is pure body metaphysics.”
Photographing people from all over, and for the most part NYC citizens, Robert Whitman’s approach is akin to American school of street photography.
“I always work on my own, just me and my camera. I never have assistants, sets. I always use natural light, and I think Mikhail Baryshnikov liked my style,” Whitman says. ”
Mikhail Baryshnikov: Body Metaphysics is on show from October 12, 2016 – January 22, 2017 at the Lumiere Brothers Centre if Photography, Moscow, Russia.