Instant Light
Access the Soviet Filmmaker’s Private Polaroids
Andrei Tarkovsky is often cited as the greatest cinematic artist of all time. His roster of just seven films – including Andrei Rublev, Ivan’s Children and Solaris – have made him one of the most lauded directors in history, awarded a Golden Lion, the Grand Prix du Jury at Cannes and, posthumously, the Lenin Prize – the highest accolade in the Soviet Union. One of his heroes, Ingmar Bergman, once stated “Tarkovsky for me is the greatest, the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream.”
Veneration for Tarkovsky has not dimmed since his premature death in 1986, making the recent discovery of a cache of his polaroids a thrilling find. Taken between 1979 and 1984, in the years before his death from a cancer supposedly contracted on the set of Stalker, they span his last months in the Soviet Union and the years he spent researching and filming in Italy. Very much in the spirit of his moving image work, they capture nature, individuals and light in images that shine with the singular humanity which imbues his films. He once pronounced that “the director’s task is to recreate life, its movement, its contradictions, its dynamic and conflicts. It is his duty to reveal every iota of the truth he has seen…” In these vignettes from his personal world, populated by his dog, his children, his garden and the view from his window, we are left spellbound by a quiet and captivating insight into the world of a man who rendered dreams reality, creating worlds of wonder and truth that have never been equalled despite all the bombast of modern technology.
–Text by Tish Wrigley
All Polaroids by Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979-84 © Андрей Тарковский/Ultreya, Milano
Loud Alien Noize 
Extraordinary work, Tobe. Thank you for posting it.
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YVW!!! Warms up my heart to be able to spread the word about one of my hero!!
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The post inspired me to play around with some old blackberry shots. Early digital photography reminds me of the Polaroid.
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yes but polaroids film have evolved so much, they come in allkinds of teints and textures now!! It’s incredible!!
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Yes, I’m tempted to go out and buy and old one to play with.
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They still sell very good models that are old but you can still buy them new!
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I’ve seen them on Amazon.
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I have this book! It is absolutely amazing both in the actual photographs and in the publication (good paper, size replicating polaroids, and notation). Like his films, each image is a work of beauty; fragile, haunting, and incomparably beautiful! Highly recommended!
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I also own the book ”INSTANT LIGHT”!!!! As well as the Polaroid book by Taschen. But Tarkovsky has such a unique quality to his polaroids!! GOD!!! When I saw pics in a magazine I had to have this book!! Plus I’m a huge fan of Tarkovsky. Seen all his movies but never read a bio of him…. Don’t even know if there’s a good one that,s been written yet… Or even better an autobio!!
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Reblogged this on From 1 Blogger 2 Another.
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So grateful thank you very very much!
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Nice work! I love instant photography too and this post got me thinking to post about a few of my photography heroes. Thanks for sharing 🙂👍🏼
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Have you seen Tarkovsky’s movies? Or heard about them? Andrei Rublev has a seen in which deaf monks are rendered blind by some merceneries or God freak, call it as you want… It’s astounishing… Tarkovsky with Fellini and Kubrik is amongst the best filmakers ever IMO of course..
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