MISHA GORDIN
Conceptual photography
Misha Gordin was a Latvian-American conceptual photographer who was known for his thought-provoking and deeply personal images. Born in 1946, the first year after World War II, Gordin grew up in Riga, Latvia during a time of great change and uncertainty.
Growing up among the Russian-speaking population of Latvia, Russian became Gordin's root culture. He graduated from the technical college as an aviation engineer but never worked as such. Instead, he joined Riga Motion Studios as a designer of equipment for special effects.
However, despite his technical background, Gordin had always been drawn to the arts. He began to photograph at the age of nineteen, driven by his desire to create a personal style and vision. He was involved in portraiture and did some documentary shots, but soon realized the results were unsatisfactory. Putting his camera aside, Gordin concentrated on reading (Dostoevsky, Bulgakov) and cinematography (Tarkovsky, Parajanov) in search of inspiration.
It wasn't until 1972 that Gordin found his true calling as a photographer. He created his first and most important image, Confession, a photograph that marked the beginning of his conceptual approach to photography. From this point on, Gordin focused on capturing concepts rather than literal moments on film.
In 1974, after years of disgust with communist authorities, Gordin left Latvia and immigrated to the United States. In the United States, Gordin continued to develop his unique style of conceptual photography, drawing on his experiences growing up in Soviet-occupied Latvia and his love of literature and cinema. He began to explore themes of identity, memory, and the human condition, using his photographs as a way to express his personal feelings and thoughts.
Gordin's work was deeply personal and often dealt with difficult and sensitive subjects. His images were thought-provoking and evocative, and they invited viewers to look at the world in a new and different way.
Misha Gordin passed away in 2020, but his legacy lives on through his photographs. His work continues to inspire and challenge viewers, and his contributions to the field of conceptual photography will never be forgotten.
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