I.Metshin: "I look on Gijsbert Hanekroot with admiring envy"

(Kazan, KZN.RU, October 2, by Albert Murtazin). The world famous rock photographer Gijsbert Hanekroot will present his best work in Kazan. Today, Kazan City Hall hosted a media preview of the personal exhibition "From Abba to Zappa. Rock Photos of the 1970s." Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin attended the opening of the exhibition.

The exhibition features70 photographs from the rock music heyday. Gijsbert Hanekroot photographed many stars of the world of rock: Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart, John Lennon and Keith Richards, David Bowie and Blondie, Bob Marley, Joe Cocker and Miles Davis were some of the musicians who posed for him. Spending a lot of time with people to whose tunes millions sang along, he attempted to look behind the stage image and portray a person rather than a star.

The Kazan mayor thanked Gijsbert Hanekroot for accepting the invitation and agreeing to hold an exhibition in our city. "We grew up with the music of rock stars whose portraits we see today. I look on Gijsbert Hanekroot with admiring envy, because he did not just take photos but was actually present at  concerts of the legends of rock and became personally familiar with them. We are used to seeing our idols on stage. Here we see them at rest or just sitting deep in thought. As a rule, these are completely different images," said the mayor.

Ilsur Metshin also expressed confidence that the photo exhibition will be a good gift to the townspeople. "This exhibition cannot leave anyone indifferent. It's good that many of the stars shown in the photographs have already performed in Kazan. This is not only a great joy for those who love rock music, but also something to work on, because we have yet to see some of the performers on our stage," said Ilsur Metshin.

Gijsbert Hanekroot , in turn, said that rock legends possess not only musical talent but also a very strong character. According to him, it is the combination of these qualities that allowed them to climb to the top. It should be added that the photo guru kindly agreed to hold two master classes for Kazan's photography enthusiasts. The first will be held for photography students and the second – for all those with a passion for photography.

At the end of the meeting, Ilsur Metshin and Gijsbert Hanekroot exchanged gifts. The mayor of Kazan gave the famous photographer a Tatar folk headdress – a skullcap, and the latter gave the mayor a copy of his book «ABBA... Zappa Seventies Rock Photography».

The official opening will be held tomorrow, October 4, and the exhibition will run through November 23.