Bruce Mozert’s Underwater World

“It’s like going back to the past — to the days when Silver Springs really meant excitement,” an enthusiastic lady said as she walked through the exhibit, “The Underwater World of Bruce Mozert.” Others nodded in agreement as they perused the collection of over 50 black-and-white photos. Regardless of whether one is an old-time Florida resident or a newcomer who appreciates the art of photography, visiting the display at the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala is a treat.

The exhibit is a tribute to the creative work of master artist Bruce Mozert, 91 and still an energetic dynamo. At the January 25 opening of the exhibit Mozert was so overcome with emotion that he told the large gathering that he wanted to cry. Afterward he conducted an informal tour for those who wanted to hear how he created his photographs.

“He looks just like he did when I knew him back in the late 1950s,” said Betty Frazee Haskins, one of the models in his pictures. “Bruce was such a terrific, talented person, who used his wild imagination to create unusual props. Before Disney, Silver Springs was in its heyday, and the pictures were heavily published and went out over the wire services around the world.”

Mozert was born in Newark, Ohio, and moved to Scranton, Pa., where his father was superintendent of Scranton Stove Works.

“There are two things in my family: longevity and inventiveness,” Mozert said. “Several of my family have lived to be over 100 and were known for their inventions. My father loved to create new things like a draft stove and my grandfather made a clover hauler, whatever that is, and a merry-go-round. I was lucky to have some of these genes.”

After high school Mozert started a coal hauling business, but quit after being caught in a flood, he said.

“I got out of that business and went to New York where my sister introduced me to LIFE photographer Victor De Palma,” Mozert said. “I took to photography like a duck takes to water and had several of my pictures of exciting things, such as the first nine-man football team, published worldwide.”

In 1938 while visiting St. Augustine, Mozert heard of an opportunity to shoot pictures of a Tarzan movie being filmed at Silver Springs. He was hired to do the job but gasped when he saw the round tank that only one person could squeeze into. Rather than climb into this contraption Mozert encased his camera within a box made of galvanized metal and secured it with electrical tape. An old inner tube attached to the camera enabled him to slide his arm into the box to take the pictures. The producers laughed at him and his Buck Rogers device, but when Silver Springs public relations manager Bill Ray sent the pictures to MGM the laughing stopped; the pictures were so good they were made into big marquees.

“I got $1 each for the pictures,” Mozert said.

The 1938 camera is part of the current exhibit at the Appleton and one of the first of about 20 underwater cameras. At the time there was no scuba equipment, so Mozert bought a rubber mask at the dime store and learned to hold his breath for two and one-half minutes while taking the pictures.

Mozert’s photography showcased the real star of Silver Springs, the crystal clear water, while his underwater models did things that were ordinary on land. One picture features a girl reading a newspaper underwater.

“That was a neat trick,” Mozert said. “I shellacked the paper to make it still and waterproof. To simulate an open bottle of champagne, I put a small plastic cup in the top and inserted dry ice or two tablets of Alka Seltzer.”

One picture shows a male model mowing the underwater grass with an old push mower while model Ginger Stanley Hallowell cuts the grass with hedge clippers. Other photographs depict people playing golf or looking through a telescope.

Mozert’s genius is in the details. In his scene of underwater cooking, he thought that to be real, smoke must come out of the stove. He solved the problem by using a can of condensed milk; the fat in the milk created the illusion of smoke rising.

Betty Haskins was a majorette in her high school band performing at Silver Springs when she was discovered.

“They offered me a summer job to do modeling and to work in public relations,” Haskins said. As a model for Mozert’s underwater shots she did everything from riding a sea turtle to wrestling an alligator. In one of Mozerts’ brainstorms, Haskins wore a striped bathing suit while refereeing two burly wrestlers.

One of the most popular pictures shows Haskins posing in a clamshell. The shot was made in 8 to 10 feet of water. Mozert told her when to sink and get into the pose, but she had to make sure the currents were blowing hair away from the face, rather than toward it. That one made the cover of “Parade” magazine. Many of the shots were made into post cards, which visitors sent home to friends, Haskins said.

Author and documentary photographer Gary Monroe has written a book entitled “Silver Springs: The Underwater World of Bruce Mozert” to be released on April 13. If not for Monroe, the works of Mozert might have remained hidden in files in Mozert’s office. Monroe became acquainted with the photography while researching a book on the St. Johns River. He found the work stunning and wanted to bring the historic photographs to the attention of the public.

The photography of Bruce Mozert illustrates creativity at a time before Photoshop or digital cameras. As Mozert said to the group that had gathered for the opening, “Life is about imagination.”

Silver Springs: The Underwater World of Bruce Mozert

When: Through May 11 2008
Where: Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala. Silver Springs Blvd. is also SR 40.
Cost: $6.00 for adults; $4.00 for seniors and $3.00 for children ages 10 to 17.
Information: 291-4455 ext. 1835 or www.appletonmuseum.org