J. Sybylla Smith, In Conversation with Misha Friedman
Episode #24 Summary:
Russian born photographer Misha Friedman provides an intimate chronicle of a lesbian couple (Svetlana Sugako and Nadezhda Brodskaya) who produce the performances of resistance through the Belarus Theatre company that, despite global fame, works underground from its’ homebase in Minsk.
Episode Notes
Skilled at making the invisible visible, Friedman sensitively documents the irony and ambivalence found in the parallel experience of exile. The protagonists live in a precarious environment for same sex couples, while their work supports a creative troop who are not allowed to officially perform in their homeland.
In this book group, Misha discusses, among other things:
The challenging puzzle of conceptual projects
Know the question your images are seeking to answer
Images as adjectives
The importance of pre-thinking (envisioning) pre-project
Making creative choices based on underscoring the concept
Focusing on one emotion
The responsibility of composition
Matching your personality to the jobs you seek
Diverse Humanity, the groundbreaking photobook series of LGBTQ-themed books exploring human relations in all their rich complexity.
Referenced in the episode
Masha Gessen - New Yorker, August 18th 2020
Never Remember, Misha Friedman