Dance legend Mikhail Baryshnikov has a photography exhibit in London. Dancing Away, photographic works by Mikhail Baryshnikov, at ContiniArtUK, 105 New Bond Street, London, runs until until January 31.
Baryshnikov has been taking black and white photos of family and friends for many years. Inspired by photography masters such as Alexey Brodovitch and Irving Penn, he explored capturing movement in a painterly way by using long exposure shutter speeds to capture fluidity of movement explains Liz Hoggard of The Guardian:
Baryshnikov has always taken black and white photos of family and friends (he has a daughter, Alexandra, from his relationship with the actor Jessica Lange, and three children in their 20s with his wife, the ex-dancer Lisa Rinehart) but he was never drawn to contemporary dance photography: “They’re set up in the studio with lights, they’re very slick.” However, inspired by masters such as Alexey Brodovitch and Irving Penn, Baryshnikov began to see how you could capture movement and fluidity in a more painterly way. He uses a technique known as, using long exposures to create a blur of bodies. “This one is my little nod to Picasso,” he says, showing me a picture of a flamenco dancer in Madrid.
Sarah Crompton of The Telegraph:
People ask have you stopped dancing and I say not quite. I do this. When I am doing this I feel like I am dancing with them. I am still a dancer in my mind and I continue dancing through these images in a way.
Lauren Milligan of Vogue has more detail.