Alexander Alexandrovich Kitaev - Soviet, and later Russian master of photography, historian, artist. The author of 4 books and many publications on photographic art. His portraits are the standard of the genre, and the most famous cycles are considered to be works on the Athos monastery, St. Petersburg and the Netherlands.
Enthusiasm
Alexander Kitaev was born in Leningrad on November 23, 1952. After the war and the terrible blockade, not much time passed, and the boy witnessed, in fact, the second birth of the city. Already in this period a love for Leningrad-Petersburg was born, which the artist carried through his whole life. I wanted to express my feelings with the help of photography - a tool that allows you to “stop the instant of time”.
Such an opportunity appeared in the early 1970s. After leaving school, a guy from a simple family got a job as a mechanic at the famous Zarya Electromechanical Plant, where, by the way, he worked for 8 years from bell to bell (1970-1978). In parallel, in 1971 he entered the correspondence department of the North-West Polytechnic Institute.
Within the walls of the educational institution, he met with children from the photo club of the Vyborg Palace of Culture (VDK). It was not just a hobby group, but the oldest community of photographers in the country, where outstanding masters of their business shared their experiences with young people. Alexander could not miss the opportunity to improve his skills, and in 1972 he joined the ranks of the photo club.
Vocation
A remarkable team crystallized within the community of amateur VDK photographers in the person of A. Kitaev, S. Chabutkin, E. Skibitskaya, B. Konov, E. Pokuts. The children and girls formed the creative group “Window” and worked fruitfully for several years together. They more than once became laureates of various contests of folk art, city, all-union and even international exhibitions.
Alexander Kitaev did not want to stop there. His mind required great knowledge. He entered the University of Rabkorov, operating at the Leningrad House of Journalists, at the faculty of photojournalists. After his graduation in 1977, Alexander Alexandrovich was able to engage in photography professionally. He easily got the job of a full-time photographer at the famous Admiralty Shipyards shipyard, where, among other things, they built warships.
Search
With the accumulation of experience, any master wants to share it with his students so that his research will not be in vain. Alexander Kitaev was no exception. In 1879, he took an active part in the creation of a new photo club at the House of Friendship of Peoples. They called him that - the Druzhba photo club. For three years, the master shared professional secrets with young people and colleagues. But in 1982, for unknown reasons, withdrew from the organization, taking up independent creativity.
In the following years, he worked hard, experimented, and sought himself in other areas of the arts. But close live communication with colleagues was clearly not enough. In 1987, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich joined the ranks of the Zerkalo photo club; in 1988, he was a member of the Photocenter Leningrad association at the Palace of Culture named after "Ilyich", in 1989 was a member of the community "Community of Photographers", created by R. Mangutov. These years have passed in painstaking work, the search for new subjects in the wake of perestroika and publicity, in fact - the search for yourself as an author.
Creation
Back in the 1980s, Alexander Kitaev began to create one of the most famous photo cycles of Leningrad, which later became canonical in the professional environment. As one of the critics noted, Kitaev’s works are out of time and space. The photographer so subtly captured the moment of filming that it is impossible to say what period the photograph belongs to: is it modern Petersburg, Soviet Leningrad, or Tsarist Petrograd?
Another landmark work of that period was the creation of cycles of photo portraits of the most famous figures of Leningrad culture. Later, in new Russia, the project continued. Thanks to this series, Alexander Alexandrovich became known as one of the country's best portrait painters.
Since the 1990s, the master has been experimenting in a new technique for himself in chemistry and photogramma - the field of abstract photography. Kitaev’s work was highly appreciated. In 1992 he was admitted to the Union of Photo Artists of Russia, and after 2 years - to the Union of Artists of Russia. Since 1998, Alexander Alexandrovich’s photo galleries are exhibited at the “Traditional Autumn Photo Marathon”.
New stage
The period 1996 to 2000 was marked by the creation of the series “Window to the Netherlands”. The work was carried out in close collaboration with colleagues from the Dutch publication Wubbo de Jang. The project turned out to be extremely successful and received flattering reviews from professionals. The work draws parallels between the two port cities, equally justly called the “Venice of the North”.
In the 2000s, Kitaev moved to a new creative level. He becomes the organizer of the publishing house Art-Topic, whose goal is the publication of literature on photographic skill. Since the mid-2000s, begins to write books on photography. These are not just practical guides, but a look at photography as an object of art. The author is actively exploring the Internet. At one time he was the editor of the online magazine Peter-club.
We cannot ignore the unique cycle of photographs of the Athos series. The author went on expeditions to the holy mountain five times and created an amazing chronicle of the life of one of the most closed monasteries in the world.
Editions
Alexander Alexandrovich is the author of 4 full-length books on photography, more than 10 albums, and many publications on the history of photography. Among them:
- Photographer about photography (2006).
- Stereoscope. Subjectively about photographers (2013).
- Poste restante. St. Petersburg of Ivan Bianchi (2015).
- Petersburg light in photos of Karl Doutendey (2016).
Since 2012, Kitaev has been engaged in educational activities. He teaches photography in various photo centers, schools, educational institutions. The experience of the master is in high demand.