Victor Akhlomov

Walking the Streets of Moscow

To the 80th anniversary

XII INTERNATIONAL MONTH OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN MOSCOW ‘PHOTOBIENNALE 2018’

As part of the Classics of Russian Photography programme

Victor Akhlomov. Walking the Streets of Moscow.
To the 80th anniversary

Curators: Nina Levitina, Elena Misalandi

As part of the programme ‘Classics of Russian Photography’, the Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow presents a solo exhibition of works by legendary Russian photographer Viktor Akhlomov (1938—2017), to coincide with the 80th anniversary of his birth.

MAMM collaborated with Viktor Akhlomov since the museum was founded in1996, constantly including images by this master photographer in major exhibition projects dedicated to the history of Russia. The House of Photography Museum held large-scale retrospective exhibitions by the photographer in 2001 and 2008, to great acclaim. Today we turn to his oeuvre yet again and showcase the best, iconic shots by Viktor Akhlomov from our own museum collection and from private collections, as a tribute to his memory and as a mark of gratitude to this great professional known for his positive, sunny disposition.

Colleagues have called Viktor Akhlomov the ‘photographer of good mood’, and this definition characterises his life and his attitude to the profession with remarkable accuracy.

Viktor Akhlomov is a classic of Russian photography, a four-time laureate of the prestigious World Press Photo competition and winner of numerous prizes, awards and distinctions who treated his regalia with great humour, since for him the most important thing was to preserve and evoke interest in life, to stimulate curiosity and excitement in his audience!

Alexei Adzhubei was aware of the young photographer’s talent, and in March 1960 he personally invited Viktor Akhlomov, a recent graduate from the Central House of Journalists’ photography course, to become staff photo correspondent for Izvestia. Akhlomov worked there for more than 50 years. Later he took up teaching, for the Moscow State University Faculty of Journalism and the Izvestia newspaper school of journalism.

With camera in hand Viktor Akhlomov experienced Khrushchev’s Thaw, the Brezhnev period of stagnation, Gorbachev’s perestroika and the new era in the history of Russia. Indifferent to technical innovations, Akhlomov remained faithful to black and white photography and to film coated with photosensitive emulsion.

During his work as a reporter Viktor Akhlomov photographed thousands of people, including many famous figures such as Yuri Gagarin, Maya Plisetskaya, Lev Yashin, Andrei Sakharov, Dmitry Likhachov, Yuri Nikulin, Fidel Castro, Ernesto Che Guevara, Marlene Dietrich, John Steinbeck, Yury Lyubimov, Andrei Tarkovsky, Oleg Yefremov, etc. Sympathetic, direct, open-minded and able to grasp the essentials, Akhlomov also possessed a rare talent – the ability to genuinely admire others.

Viktor Akhlomov photographed life in all its manifestations, responding to every nuance and turn, to a fleeting impression or street scene, never seeking to capture sensational events. ‘I’m not a paparazzi,’ Akhlomov would say. ‘I don’t hunt, I just shoot.’ It was his sincere belief that photography is sublime, since it extends the life of the departed and preserves the spirit of the times.