Images on the Brink - Jock Sturges: Frustrated by the Exhibition Closing
The well-known American photographer Jock Sturges confessed in an interview for the Russian mass media that he was extremely astonished concerning the solution of the organizers. The exhibition of his photographs in the Russian capital discontinued. The master of the camera said that his works were exhibited in many countries of the world, and that he nowhere perceived such a reaction as in Russia.
The exhibition "Jock Sturges. Without embarrassment" was closed because of the criticism of the public. In the work of the photographer, many visitors of the exhibition discovered more or less child pornography! Some officials have referred to it as the propaganda of pedophilia. What disliked the critics? Among other items, photos of partly naked girls were presented on the exhibition. Authority of the Presidential Jock Sturges Anna Kuznetsova said: "It is simply terrible that photos of the author recognized as child pornography by the Federal Service for the Supervision of Communication, Information Technology and Mass Communication can stay in the cultural life of our capital." Now the works of Sturge are undergoing a check in terms of its consistencies with Russia´s law.
Sturges was born in 1947 in New York. He began to study photography since his childhood. Soon this hobby became his life. As an adult, he studied pedagogical psychology in which he also holds a Master of Arts degree. Since the late 1970s, the photographer specialized in images of naked human bodies. He was also a regular guest at nudist beaches.
Children were particularly interested in him. His models were often recovering minors at nude beaches. Sturges took photos of young nudists in Ireland, the USA and France. His works are to be found in the collections in a number of great contemporary museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York or the Frankfurt Museum of Contemporary Art.
The photographer is always accused of the fact that he crosses borders. In 1990, the police and FBI agents confiscated a series of his pictures and equipment. At the end of the nineties, whole demonstrations evolved against Sturges. "This has not happened to me anywhere, I am a recognized photographer - my work is represented in many countries and nowhere have I followed such a reaction as in Moscow. People who agree to be part of my photo shootings do so voluntarily. "
