My discovery of America

2009/05/12

Photographer Vasily Voinov and PAO Chris Istrati at the opening of the exhibition “My Discovery of America”

The city lights of New York have long attracted visitors to America. Whether immigrants seeking a new life in the shadow of Manhattan or tourists chasing a dream in the neon glitter of Broadway and Times Square, New York City hangs like a delicious “Big Apple” ready for a taste. One of those who tasted the forbidden fruit was the Soviet writer Vladimir Mayakovsky. Born a Georgian, raised in Moscow, he embraced Bolshevism and championed the cause of the proletarian working man in his poems and plays before tragically ending his life in 1930. In 1925 he traveled on his Soviet passport to the United States, but not before spending eight hours in an immigration detention center in Nuevo Laredo, Texas. Visiting several cities including Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, he remained most impressed with New York City.

Mayakovsky recorded his impressions in a prose poem entitled “My Discovery of America” and wrote his inspirations in a cycle of poems called “Stikhi ob Ameriki ("Poems of America"), including Bruklinski Most ("The Brooklyn Bridge"). While his travelogue doesn’t paint a rosy picture of America, what stands out is his affection for the common man, his appreciation for American technology, and his scorn of bureaucracy and falseness. In a real sense those are also values still shared by average American workers who poke fun at their own government, are passionate about technological gadgets like wide-screen TVs and big cars, and respect the dignity of all men no matter their background.

In the spring of 2008, Yekaterinburg photographer Vasily Voinov traveled to New York City to visit a friend. He returned with an interesting collection of black and white photos that he presented to the U.S. Consulate General in Yekaterinburg. In his photographs of New York City we saw some of those qualities that Mayakovsky found in “The Big Apple”. His photographs also revealed a similar sensitivity to the “man and woman on the street” that one finds in Mayakovsky’s poetry. In the shadow of New York’s skyscrapers live real men and women, captured evocatively by the lens of a young and talented Russian photographer. In Voinov’s photographs one senses the intriguing stories that lie behind the faces of ordinary New Yorkers. The contrast between the views of New York City from the 20th and 21st centuries, as seen through the lens of a young photographer and the poetic eye of a legendary Russian writer opened the mind to a fascinating dialogue of art.

On May 12, the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Consulate in Yekaterinburg was honored to present Vasily Voinov’s photographs in the context of Mayakovsky’s American visit and his verse. The exhibition of 52 of Voinov’s prints was presented at the Yekaterinburg Gallery of Modern Art and entitled “My Discovery of America: the View from Two Centuries.” The director of the Gallery, Katia Khotinova, added a 1930s jazz track with readings of Mayakovsky’s poems and also invited Daniel Nakovnik, a fourth year student at the Yekaterinburg State Theatrical Institute to recite Mayakovsky’s “Brooklyn Bridge” which he did with wonderful expression. Posters of Mayakovsky’s travelogue and poetry, including the famous Bruklinski Most were hung alongside Voinov’s photographs that included several of the legendary bridge. Consul General Tim Sandusky officially opened the exhibition with the remark that it is “extremely valuable for us as Americans to understand how Russians view us, whether 85 years ago or today.”

The hope is that this exhibition will launch future shows of Russian photographers and writers visiting the United States, as well as American photographers and writers visiting Russia. By looking through each other’s eyes and lenses we can know each other and ourselves a little better and live more honestly. In effect we can raise a mirror to each other’s cultures. We also hope the combination of poems and photos will inspire viewers to reflect on the human condition and appreciate that there is much more that unites our two great countries than divides us.

Judging from the reactions of the viewers, the exhibition successfully inspired creative thought and philosophical discussion. The federal TV channel “Kul’tura” produced a feature story on the exhibit that was shown across Russia. The Ural State University Philology Department and the Yekaterinburg Ministry of Culture are also interested in introducing poetry readings that feature alternative American and Russian poetry. Maybe the taste of the “Big Apple” will launch a renaissance of poetry and art in the Urals.