Just back from Moscow Photobiennale- what an amazing experience! The Russians have a long tradition of scientific and engineering excellence and seemed to really appreciate my project on Steve Jobs and Silicon Valley in the Digital Revolution. My booth was mobbed the whole night and 600 people showed up to hear my lecture Saturday at Skolkovo, the new tech institute and business school modeled after Stanford and MIT. They want to build the next Silicon Valley in Moscow and it looks like they can do it. Education and history are so important in Russia, which are key themes in my work I hope to create dialog around here in the US. What Olga Sviblova has built with the Moscow House of Photography is so impressive, a stunning cultural landmark for photography. Also inspiring was the work of my fellow photographers. I was honored to exhibit alongside such great artists as Harry Gruyeart, Andrew Bush, Alec Soth, Alinka Echeverria, Stephen Shore, Ouyang XIngkai, hilarious madman Tim Davis, Sergey Shestokov, Jane Stravs and several others. Getting to know some of them and hear their stories was life affirming for me. The vodka, great food and the Metro – which is like an art museum itself worth the trip – were all a sweet bonus to the trip.
La Lettre Features “Fearless Genius” Project
For constant inspiration, education, and exposure to the unexpected please visit the vast photographic universe that is La Lettre de la Photographie. The range of material they present is incredible, eclectic and global. I know of no other source quite like this. We all get locked up sometimes in our own private hell of work. We know we should go out and see the shows. When we do, our world brightens a bit, we get ideas, we get energized. La Lettre is like that, but via the internet. Cé tout.
So I was honored to see my long-term project about Steve Jobs and the development of new technology in Silicon Valley during the digital revolution in the 80′s and 90′s featured on La Lettre. I must thank Jean-Jacques Naudet and Gilles Descamps for the lovely presentation. Gradually the project is progressing, with a lot of new scans, plus getting some interviews done for my film and book. But seeing it here makes it a bit more real after all this time working on it. Have a look if you get a moment:
http://lalettredelaphotographie.com/archives/by_date/2011-12-06/4844/doug-menuez-la-saga-de-silicon-valley
