Andrew Miksys: BAXT
BAXT is a Roma (Gypsy) word that translates to English as "fate" or "fortune," and is the title of a new book of photographs by Andrew Miksys. Based in Vilnius since 1999, Miksys has been photographing in villages, yards and homes of Lithuania's Roma, making elegant, classically styled images in the midst of post-Soviet tumult.
from the introduction by Andrei Codrescu:
"Viewers both familiar and unfamiliar with history, Soviet history, Lithuania, Romas, or Lithuanian Roma, can expend a great deal of useful exegetic energy looking into these pictures ... Andrew's greatness lies, I believe, in the extraordinary swiftness with which he establishes a relationship with his subjects, a relationship that is unfailingly empathic ... The people who pose for Andrew in these photographs expect something idealized and heroic from him, something that they have been taught years before, is the truly "artistic" portrait. Whether they know it or not, their ideas of art were formed by "socialist-realism." In seemingly granting them their wish, Andrew does something of a triple somersault: He quotes their ideas back to them without offending them while he makes the multiple ironies accessible to everyone, including his subjects.
May 1 - July 5th, 2008
Opening reception and book signing Thursday May 1, 6-8pm
Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Saturday, noon-6pm and by appointment