One of the photographers whose works that I have been really admiring lately is Alexander Rodchenko. I can’t quite remember how or when I first came across Rodchenko’s work, but I immediately felt there was something about his photos that was captivating.

It’s often hard to express why we like a certain visual style, but in my case, with Rochenko, it would have to be the combination of pleasing compositions, together with unusual perspectives and interesting shadows.

Living in 1920s revolutionary Russia, Rodchenko had started out as a painter, and only turned to photography, as well as design and illustration in the early part of that decade. No doubt his background as a painter helped him with his photographic composition and understanding of lighting too.

While his early work reflects an artist still trying to find his way around a new medium, it’s clear that he soon finds his own distinct style, often using unusual perspectives, tilted angles and shadows to create seemingly simple, yet dramatic high contrast images. Many of these shots with dark and long shadows have a film-noir like feel to them.

Inspired by other abstract artists, while being part of the avant-garde Constructivist movement himself, Rodchenko was setting out to make rather than take pictures. Composition was of utmost importance to him and it’s obvious that he put a great deal of thought, time and care in creating most of his photos. Continue reading “Alexander Rodchenko: The Utopian Photographer” »