{"id":631,"date":"2021-11-06T07:11:16","date_gmt":"2021-11-06T05:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/popolitov.sillamae-muuseum.ee\/?p=631"},"modified":"2021-11-18T14:50:41","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T12:50:41","slug":"aleksandr-popolitov-museum-as-a-space-for-self-awareness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/popolitov.sillamae-muuseum.ee\/?p=631&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Aleksandr Popolitov. Museum as a Space for Self-Awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.13.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.13.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.13.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.13.1″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]\n

Karin Taidre is an art historian, head of the Narva Art Gallery from 1991 to 2005.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is a\u00a0museum in Sillam\u00e4e that is not only known nationally but also abroad. The museum holds general history and local history collections put together by Aleksandr Popolitov, who was not just an artist but, as his friends say, a\u00a0local historian, a\u00a0traveller, a\u00a0mountaineer, a\u00a0cave explorer, a\u00a0botanist, a\u00a0zoologist, a\u00a0mineralogist, a\u00a0restorer, a\u00a0sportsman and a\u00a0gardener\u2026 It is important to note that the evidence for his curiosity is his passion for collecting vastly different items, starting from ancient Russian paintings and documents to mineral samples and household items of the 1950s.<\/p>\n

Where does a\u00a0museum begin? Obviously, with the collection, one might say. What is the collection? Is it simply a\u00a0collection of items he liked or is it a\u00a0meticulously selected collection of artefacts? In Popolitov\u2019s\u00a0case, we are dealing with a\u00a0professional who chose a\u00a0non-s\u00ad\u00ad\u00adtandard approach.<\/p>\n

As a\u00a0student at Abramtsev\u2019s\u00a0Art and Industry Academy near Zagorsk, he highlighted two museums himself: The Mineralogical Museum of A. E. Fersman, with the magnificent sparkle of its mineral collection, and the Central Museum of Ancient Russian Culture, named after Andrey Rublyov, which stunned Aleksandr with the glory and depth of its history of Russian culture.<\/p>\n

In 1985, for the first time, he went to the mountains, which he thought were an immortal and endless source of cleansing and soul-e\u00ad\u00ad\u00adnlightening, a\u00a0gateway to the world of beauty. For several years, he spent all of his holidays in the mountains, collecting mineral samples. The only thing that could trump the mountains for Popolitov were the mountain caves. He realised this himself when he explored the caves in the mountains of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Siberia, admiring stalactites and stalagmites, onyx, amethyst and garnet stone flowers. Calm and silent. The charming beauty of natural forms. Mountains won his heart forever. There, he understood that beauty and perfection can only occur in nature. This is how his magnificent collection of minerals, the best in Estonia, was born. He later gifted the collection to the city for his jubilee.<\/p>\n

Also, as he confessed himself, he enjoyed \u201cdigging in the past\u201d. He collected and studied historical photographs and items from the past as evidence of his hometown\u2019s\u00a0history.<\/p>\n

This is how the three main areas for collection were devised: church icons, minerals and historical items, importantly, not just from ancient times. As a\u00a0local historian, he realised the importance and even uniqueness of items from recent times, not just the ancient ones. (Visit \u201c1950\u2019s\u00a0Room\u201d and \u201cMusical box\u201d at the museum.)<\/p>\n

The idea of opening a\u00a0museum came about a\u00a0long time ago, maybe even in his teenage years. But it was only possible for the dream to come true in the 1990s. And we shouldn\u2019t\u00a0only speak of his colleagues, his difficulties or even the mistrust of others. It is important to note that Aleksandr Popolitov and Aala Gitt immediately decided for themselves what \u201cmuseum\u201d means. Today, to get as many visitors as possible, many forget how a\u00a0museum differs from, say, an institute, a\u00a0theatre, a\u00a0circus or a\u00a0cinema\u2026 You can often find models geared towards tourists in historical rooms (Sillam\u00e4e Museum, by the way, is located in the rather dull building of a\u00a0former kindergarten) that have no real connection to historical objects. Owing to the hard work of Sillam\u00e4e\u2019s\u00a0professionals, the centrepiece of the building is a\u00a0museum exhibit which has scientific, historical, memorial, artistic and aesthetic value. It seems that combining the present (exhibition hall) with the past (museum) is particularly important. This way, visitors are able to tell the past from the present in order to think about the future.<\/p>\n

The museum has long become a\u00a0beloved place for locals and tourists alike. \u201cMany things can be seen and heard only here,\u201d Popolitov says, \u201cin this \u2018house of wisdom\u2019. It\u2019s\u00a0alive\u2026 Many guests say that the feeling in the museum is cosy. Now, interactive things are popular \u2014 you look at the screen, push some buttons\u2026 We don\u2019t\u00a0have that, but it\u2019s\u00a0not boring here\u2026.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Aleksandr Popolitov knew how to see not just the easily identifiable traits of an era or obvious evidence of the way of living in an item, but also the beauty of proportions, surprising colour schemes and smart usage of materials. His story-t\u00ad\u00ad\u00adelling was so good that museum visitors were not just happy to see the items from their lifetime, but also offered to bring some items to the museum themselves. We all remember Sasha\u2019s\u00a0sincere happiness, the sparkle in his eyes, when he would tell us how one or another item arrived at the museum. Besides, he also remembered the name of the person who brought it here, not just the story.<\/span><\/p>\n

Equipped with an ever-g\u00ad\u00ad\u00adrowing interest, many guests of the city are often envious that a\u00a0museum worker, as a\u00a0true historian, felt the importance and even uniqueness of an item from our recent past, not only of items from distant eras.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trying to shy away from attention at festive events, humble Popolitov was the king and the god of the exhibition; he knew everything about any given item and, as should be noted, in the context of time, too. He expected gifts from life, but he also created life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let the monument to this great individual be the museum that he created with such deep love and understanding of each item in the context of culture.
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