Posts Tagged "life"
Victor: Minsk Artist
Victor, 59, was sitting on a bench in the center of Minsk and I approached him to get his views on the city. He ignorned the questions and talked about his painting career. He said as a university student in USSR, he - like other students - was sent to a village to help with the potato harvest. While taking a break in a village house, he noticed a typical Belarusian rug with flower designs on a black background. The babushka let him take it. Twenty years later, he came across the rug amongst his stuff and it inspired a painting in his 'Snow in Black Square' series. The series itself is a play on 'Black Square' by Kazimir Malevich, who lived a few years in Belarus. Victor's site is: www.vitart.net
Artyom & Denis: Belarus Musicians
Artyom & Denis perform chillout and ambient music outside their regular jobs. Artyom said he started experimenting with music while attending a military school and played trance for a while. I asked how he got into these other music genres. "I was resting with a friend by a river early one morning outside Minsk, when we heard ambient music and it inspired us."
Evgeniya: Future Baker
Evgeniya and her boyfriend Vanya (left) were visiting the friend (right) who initially intoduced them. Evgenia said she is going to be a baker like her grandmother. She fondly recalled visiting her grandmother at work for first time at the age of 8. Her grandmother let her play with the dough. I asked Evgenia what her favorite pastery is. 'Eclair - it's the hardest to make, but it is the most delicious.'
German: Mixed Martial Arts Fighter
German was serving me cofee at a restaurant in the center of Minsk when I noticed the tattoos on his arm. They were from the film Spartak, a culture which is an inspiration to him. He said he is a mixed martial arts fighter and has taken part in 3 bouts. He has 'Fight til the End' tattooed across his chest.
Alex: Santa and Skater
A few more holiday shots ....Alex was heading toward the Moscow metro around midnight a few days before the New Year's holiday, carrying his ice skates and wearing a Santa Claus mask. He said he recently lost his job - explaining why he was out so late before a work day - and was 'trying to find himself.' Having studied hospitality because he enjoys commmunicating with people, he said worked at a state-owned company under a former military official that didn't appreciate his lighter-hearted style. It wasn't as if Alex were new to such a strict environment - he said he had done his year of mandatory Russian military service. Alex said the service was in some ways a good school in preparing one for life. 'You are with complete strangers and you have no where to run. You have to learn to live with them.'
Vitali: Love at First Sight_
Katya and Vitali, 18, were taking selfies near a Minsk metro when I saw them. I asked Vitali what the most memorable event was in his life in 2014 and he basically answered 'right here, right now because Katya and I have met.' I asked him what he meant, and he answered that they met a few months ago via social media and wrote often. They met for the first time that day I photographed them. I asked what they had in common. "Everything," Vitali answered.
Alexander: Orphan from Minsk
He was selling New Year's gifts in Minsk near the tractor factory, a less attractive part of the city. He said he put up his Christmas tree on Dec. 1, like he does every year. But this year, his girlfriend helped him clean up his apartment, throwing out alot of his old stuff. He said it was the best days of the year. He told me he rents the apartment basically for free - part of a state sponsored program to help orphans. He said his parents are alive...and that as a child he admired his dad .... But alcohol and crime changed everything. He said he has seen a lot, but tries to keep a positive outlook on life. However, he said many orphans will succumb to crime and drugs because they look up to gangster types.
Stanislav: Seeing-Impaired Street Musician (2)
Another photo of Stanislav, the nearly-blind 77yo accordion player, who says he will play till the end. Here you can see his instrument on a cart that he was dragging through the snow. He has a stick in his other hand to help him walk.
Vera: Family Emigration Story
I will post a few portraits from a short trip to Minsk, Belarus that I hope will shed some light on the people and the country. I will start it off with Vera, whom I randomly met when I lost the keys to the flat I was renting in Minsk.
Vera told me her great grandfather left Czarist Russia to work in a Canadian mine to help pay off land debts. When her g-grandfather returned, he discovered that his wife had left for Moscow with the money and a lover. He remarried at 40 and had six children, one of whom died in a concentration camp during WWII, which took the lives of at least 20% of the population. One of the six - her grandmother - is still alive, age 90, and lives alone in a village, something not uncommon. Vera commented that Belarusians still migrate abroad for work much like her grandfather did a century ago. Indeed, quiet a few of the people I spoke with in Minsk considered working abroad as salaries at home are quite low.
As for the lost key, it had the address written on it. When the flat manager arrived to give me a new key, I raised the question of paying for a new door lock. He was relaxed 'Minsk is quite safe. The person who finds it will be too scared to try robbing the flat.' Four days later, no one but myself entered the flat. Minsk indeed seemed to be a safe city.
Sergei: English Translater
Sergei, a translator like his father, studied in America and I interested to here about his experience there. He highlighted that religious organizations were quite active on the campus and he was invited to events. He said he was surprised to see a church service where the music was performed by people with guitars and other instruments. He felt overall it was an advanced attitude toward religion. He pointed out that the more religious students from the US university are the ones that have tended to keep in touch since he returned to Russia.
