the individual picture
Montmartre 1949© CHRISTER STRÖMHOLM
Courtesy: Bildverksamheten Strömholm
"I have too many different types of pictures. I seldom leave home without my camera. This means I'm prepared to simply be there and to be available and receive the reality I meet. And the reality is I, what happens to me, and if you're open there are so many things happening. Since I have so many interests in various areas for the pictures, my pictures can fall into thirty or forty different categories depending on the nature of the picture." Those are words by the great Swedish photographer Christer Strömholm, quoted from his last interview given to Gunilla Knape/Hasselblad Center autumn 2000 (Published in “La Caixa Catalogue” 2001)
I went to see the exhibition "Christer Strömholm 1918 - 2002 ON VERRA BIEN" late summer 2002 in Färgfabriken, Stockholm. It was a very strong experience to see Strömholm's work put together so brilliantly by his sons Joakim & Jakob in dialouge with Jan Åman director, Färgfabriken. The book from the exhibition is a treasure.
Christer Strömholm work has been labelled "subjective photography" and even "social realism". In an article called "Christer Strömholm and First-Person Surrealism" Anders Marner suggests an alernative angle of interpretation linking his work to the Surrealist aesthetic. You will find the article (in English) on Strömholm's official homepage along with many great photographs and texts.
The picture above from a cemetery in Montmartre, Paris was one of those I could not get out of my mind after seeing ON VERRA BIEN. It is so simple, still it holds an eternity. Strömholm sometimes spoke of the power of the indivual image and his statement in the interview shows that he was not making plans or projects with his photography. He said that "pictures are created in the photographer's head". Peder Alton writes in an aticle called "Long nights in Ploggatan"; "He had no comprehensive photographic plan. He was an itinerant photograher who allowed his subjects to come to him, like unexpected apparitions."
I went to see the exhibition "Christer Strömholm 1918 - 2002 ON VERRA BIEN" late summer 2002 in Färgfabriken, Stockholm. It was a very strong experience to see Strömholm's work put together so brilliantly by his sons Joakim & Jakob in dialouge with Jan Åman director, Färgfabriken. The book from the exhibition is a treasure.
Christer Strömholm work has been labelled "subjective photography" and even "social realism". In an article called "Christer Strömholm and First-Person Surrealism" Anders Marner suggests an alernative angle of interpretation linking his work to the Surrealist aesthetic. You will find the article (in English) on Strömholm's official homepage along with many great photographs and texts.
The picture above from a cemetery in Montmartre, Paris was one of those I could not get out of my mind after seeing ON VERRA BIEN. It is so simple, still it holds an eternity. Strömholm sometimes spoke of the power of the indivual image and his statement in the interview shows that he was not making plans or projects with his photography. He said that "pictures are created in the photographer's head". Peder Alton writes in an aticle called "Long nights in Ploggatan"; "He had no comprehensive photographic plan. He was an itinerant photograher who allowed his subjects to come to him, like unexpected apparitions."
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2 comments:
great image and text...my eyes are open with this. thank you!
I've been immersed in his home page...really inspiring work!!!
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