Doug Menuez is back from Russia, where his exhibition “Fearless Genius” was a big hit at the Moscow Photobiennale. “My booth was packed,” he says. “I ended up doing a lot of TV and radio interviews. It was a lot of fun, to put it mildly. Then the vodka at the wrap party…”
Doug also gave a presentation on “Fearless Genius,” his 15-year project chronicling the rise of Silicon Valley from 1985 to 2000, at Skolkovo, a school in an area of Moscow that has ambitions to be Russia’s Silicon Valley. And that too was a hit—some 600 people attended.
“Skolkovo is a new innovation center and business school. They are attempting to build a Stanford/MIT–type campus to build a Silicon Valley in Moscow,” Doug explains. “The lecture went very well. At the end, it was so amazing—I was asked to sign autographs for 20 minutes. Incredible! I think the points I’m making about the idealism in the early days of the digital revolution, the intense level of sacrifice required, and the brilliance of Steve Jobs’ approach to innovation resonate with Russians.”
As a side note, our fashion-conscious readers will be interested to know that Doug had a suit custom made for the event, courtesy of Freemans Sporting Club, the New York City men’s clothier whose dapper goods are all locally made. Scroll down to see a photo of Doug, plus pictures from the biennale, which also featured work by Alec Soth and Stephen Shore, among others.
.
Doug Menuez in his Freemans Sporting Club suit.
Doug Menuez in Russia for the opening of his exhibition "Fearless Genius" at the Moscow Biennale. Photo © Anton Galetsky.
.
.
.
One Comments
Congrats Doug!