Odessa. Photos 1985
New York before and after
THE BIG FOUNTAIN
Pristine shores of the Big Fountain were filling my soul with something inexpressible, and after long journeys they were bringing me back. Thunderstorms would erase the beach trails and change the landscape until it was unrecognizable. Airy floating castles of panorama lovers and dilapidated constructions of fishermen inevitably slid down. Nothing is permanent on this earth — this was the first lesson I learned. Back then I photographed still life of autumn shipwrecks, backyards and picturesque roofs of my beloved Odessa. From this slide film began my venture into photography. Accessibility of yards and roofs raised the pulse and brought to life the “Form”. When the only safety was rope and chimneys, which have never failed me. I showed this series of slides for the first time at the photo club. Such reflection of reality wasn’t taken very well, so I embarked on a long journey. With just a single suitcase, leaving everything else behind, at the age of 37 I arrived to America, The Land of the Free. In reality she ended up being an expert pretender, my September 11 series was rejected as anti-American. The fact is, nobody is interested in the truth, it’s inconvenient, and it’s asking too many questions. But the paths of India and Athos has merged in me without contradictions. So it is possible, when no politics are involved.
Photography is just Photography, and even though I dedicated to it most of my life, in the end I will have to give it up as well. High quality hand-made prints that express poetry and esthetics is what remains. All is well, the most important was achieved!
Mythical paths of the Big Fountain have brought together all of my journeys into one, and all of them are linked by the intent to see the genuine truth. Otherwise what’s the point?
Viktor Ratushny
NY SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 (OR THE START THE 21ST CENTURY)
I roll a smoke for the road, and I get the feeling that the days have turned into clusters, that the programmers are advancing, having donned masks of cold prosperity and the fear of losing everything.
This crazy world of vain striving and capital delusions was once suddenly interrupted, amid the soft warmth of autumn and leisurely preparations for Christmas. The deceptive tale of its famous twin towers turned into a graveyard, which smokes to this day. Thus began the era of using the clear sky, and the manufacturers of antidepressants made a killing.
America did not laugh for an entire week: there was shock, and memorial displays of love, and genuine sorrow. Then the infighting began: some sought the remains of their brothers, others gold bars. Various interests butted heads, and democracy went down choking, having declared war on itself. And all of this is called mere temporary difficulties, or a farewell to illusions.
There is no home; there is only the waystation and the eternal road, and ash strewn in your path.
Viktor Ratushny
Victor Ratushny (1952-2020) was born allegedly in the Vinnytsia region.
1954 — the parents moved to the city of Odessa.
1968-72 — he studied at the Odessa machine-tool college.
1975-84 — he worked at the Odessa Film Studio as the second operator of feature films.
1984-89 — he worked as a photographer in the Publishing House “Mayak”.
1989 — he moved to permanent residence in the city of New York, USA.
1994-95 — under the leadership of Philip Jones Griffiths, he collaborated with the Magnum New York office as a free-lance photographer.
1995-98 — he worked as a freelance photographer with the Motion Picture Services film studio.
1998-2001 — he collaborated with Blue magazine as a free-lance photographer.
2002 — he returned to the city of Odessa. He traveled a lot and worked on his own photographic projects around the world.
Since 2015 — member of the Noga Creative Union.
