Alexei Kazantsev
Alexei Kazantsev was born in Alexandrov, Russia, in 1966. At the age of fourteen, he was apprenticed to his uncle, Sergei Kazantsev, an acclaimed sculptor, and over the next twelve years completed a Bachelor and a Master of Fine Arts with high honors at Moscow State Art Institute (Surikov). Traveling to the United States, he established himself as a sculptor, and over the next twenty-nine years completed numerous works for private collectors, sculpture gardens, and public commissions, many of them throughout Louisiana.
Kazantsev’s interest in photography began in 2007. At that time, he discovered its potential for artistic expression, photographing landscapes and vineyards all along the West Coast. Finally moving to New Orleans permanently, he became a photographer for Jazz Ru, a Russian jazz magazine. As a result of shooting events at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Voodoo Fest, Preservation Hall and other music venues, his passion for photography grew.
Kazantsev considers himself to be an “anti-glam” photographer. He prefers to take pictures of subjects that are moving through real life – real feelings, real bodies, and real situations. If he works with models in the studio, he establishes close emotional contact to ensure natural responses, and whenever possible he uses natural light rather than studio lights and flash. Of course, New Orleans traditional outdoor celebrations give him his favorite subjects.
Photography eventually became his preferred mode of expression because it puts him in touch with the different New Orleans “street” subcultures – especially Mardi Gras, Voodoo, and the Mardi Gras Indians. He loves the combination of beauty, art and tradition that they embody.
His photographs of the Mardi Gras Indians, published in Jazz Ru and the Times Picayune, reflect his love and respect for the history, culture and spirit of New Orleans. His work has also been published in The New Orleans Advocate, Off Beat, Gambit, The Lens.com, NolaVie.Com, Examiner.com, and MyNewOrleans.com.