France. The twist
Vladimir Lagrange was born in 1939 in Moscow. His interest in photography arose mainly due to his parents: his father worked as a reporter for the newspaper «Pravda», and his mother was a photo editor. In 1959, he came to work in TASS Newsreel as a student of a photojournalist, where he would spend four years, and then for a long time his professional life would be connected with the magazine «Soviet Union». Vladimir Lagrange is known as the «thaw photographer,» a time when the canon of art is changing: in magazines and newspapers, courageous heroes are replaced by romantic young people. Vladimir Lagrange is one of the first to understand what forms of expression the new generation is looking for. As a young professional, immersed in the life of the times of the thaw, Lagrange spoke about the era with a new expressive language. In 1962, the exhibition «Our Youth» — one of the main events of the year for domestic reporters — opens with a photograph of Lagrange’s «Pigeons of the World» (1962), against which the entire exposition unfolds. In May 1962, the magazine «Soviet Photo» publishes this work on a U-turn, and it will forever remain the «business card» of the author.
Moscow has always been famous for its pigeons (photo «Pigeons», 1972). This dovecote was in the area of VDNH, on Argunovskaya street, where the photographer lived in those years. She was visible from the window of the house. The Ostankino tower served as a contrast. Compact frame construction — black and white and nothing more.
In 1963, Lagrange began working in the magazine Soviet Union. The magazine, which continued the work of the famous «USSR at a Construction Site,» mostly created the myth of the USSR. Many doors opened before the journalist, thanks to which Vladimir Lagrange drove along and «shot» the country far and wide. In 1987, American publishers launched a large-scale project, «One Day in the Life of the Soviet Union,» in which Lagrange also takes part.
In 1964, Vladimir Lagrange, for the first time as a tourist, visited France. He shot an unknown country and extraordinary everyday life, and after returning in one night, he printed more than two hundred photographs. In addition to France, the photographer travelled to Italy, Poland and Afghanistan, where he went to shoot the withdrawal of troops.
In 1991, the era of the USSR ended, and the magazine «Soviet Union» was closed. Vladimir Lagrange first goes to the Rodina magazine, and then to the Moscow bureau of the French agency Sipa Press and continues to shoot a social report in a manner peculiar only to him.
Vladimir Lagrange is a participant in the legendary exhibitions «The USSR — the country and people in art photographs», which travelled the world (1969-1975), as well as «The USSR — the country and people in art photographs» (1968), IV All-Union Exhibition «Seven Years in Action» (1963). Today, his exhibitions are held both in Russia and abroad.
The works of Vladimir Lagrange are in museum and private collections, and in 2002 the author was awarded the highest award of the professional guild of photographers and the Golden Eye of Russia Journalists Union.
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