Alexander Mokletsov: Cosmonautics in faces and events
Exhibition
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Museum of Cosmonautics (111 Prospect Mira)
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13 February 2020 - 5 July 2020
About the event
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This exhibition is a continuation of the series "Space Photo Chronicles" in the framework of the museum project "Open Funds" and presents the work of one of the most famous masters of photography Alexander Stepanovich Mokletsov (1914-1994).
A native of Sarapul, A.S. Mokletsov served as a photojournalist on the Central Front in the Great Patriotic War (WWII) from August 1941 to May 1945 In peacetime, he continued his work as a photojournalist for the Sovetskaya Latviya newspaper. In 1951 he went on to work for Smena magazine, and then in 1956 he began to work for the SovInformBuro agency (known as The Novosti Press Agency (APN) since 1961) and the “USSR for the USA” magazine.
Alexander Stepanovich, the master of the photo reporting, was one of a select few entrusted with photo documenting major events in space exploration. For many years he collaborated with the Cosmonaut Training Center.
Mokletsov’s archive is unique. Ceremonial photographs of astronauts, shots of survival training in Arctic winter and desert conditions, landings on water and in the mountains, space launches from different angles, rare shots of astronauts in their first moments after returning to their Earth. Alexander Stepanovich became such good friends with many the cosmonauts that he was invited to vacation with them.
The photos by A.S. Mokletsov tell many stories but they hold a higher value than that of just documentary significance. He was a photo documenter, but he could also safely be called a photo artist. He paused moments in time in his own unique way. Using multiple shots, he created truly dynamic photographic pictures. Using unusual shots and unusual angles to create the illusion of movement of objects captured in them.
This exhibition presents photographs from the stock collection of the museum relating to the period of cooperation with A.S. Mokletsov and the Cosmonaut Training Center.