For the SS17 Issue 10 of Fucking Young! we interviewed exiled Russian artist Slava Mogutin, who has gained international acclaim for his gritty, candid portrayal of disaffected youth and documentation of alternative urban subcultures, as well as his writings, multimedia work, and political activism. We got a peak at his upcoming book Bros & Brosephines published by powerHouse Books out this August.
The book is a survey of Mogutin’s studio and fashion photography, commissioned portraits, and previously unpublished images. From his early raw analog snapshots to elaborate compositions, sets, and post-production, Bros & Brosephines offers Mogutin’s signature explosive blend of art, fashion, fetish, and innovative LGTBQ expressivism transcending and dissecting the conventional notions of beauty and masculinity. The monograph also features Mogutin’s collaborations with fellow artists, including Brian Kenny, Gio Black Peter, Andrey Bartenev, Asher Levine and Martin Elmasflaco.
Mogutin is the author of seven books of writings in Russian, as well as two critically acclaimed monographs of photography, Lost Boys and NYC Go-Go (powerHouse Books, 2006 and 2008), and a collection of poetry, Food Chain (ITNA Press, 2014).
Bros & Brosephines features text by Zackary Drucker, an independent artist, cultural producer, and trans woman who breaks down the way we think about gender, sexuality, and seeing; David J. Getsy a Goldabelle McComb Finn Distinguished Professor of Art History at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and internationally acclaimed filmmaker, photographer, writer, and artist Bruce LaBruce. You might also know LaBruce as the writer and director of eleven feature films including Hustler White, L.A. Zombie, Gerontophilia, The Misandrists, and Skin Flick starring Slava Mogutin. All of LaBruce’s films have been included in MoMA’s permanent collection after being featured in a museum retrospective in 2015.
