Miss Bee from Sea of Bees

JULIE BEE. BY KATIE

Kyla La Grange.

Helen and her Hula Hoop

Location: Moderna Museet Stockholm. 
During a cultural visit to Stockholm I visited the Moderna Museet on the small museum island of Skeppsholmen, the other museum island being the 'royal game park' of Djurgården. 


Part of the permanent collection at Moderna Museet consists of a photography collection that dates from 1840's onwards. It exhibits a variety of internationally renowned photographers and it was my favourite part of the collection. Some particular photographers that stood out to me were:

Chris Killip

Helen and her Hula Hoop Chris Killip 1982

Chris Killip was born in 1946, a Manx photographer from the Isle of Man. He has won numerous awards including the Henri cartier- Bresson* award which he won for his publication In Flagrante, which  was published in 1988 and is a subjective book illustrating his time in Northeastern England. 






*Henri Cartier-Bresson award- Presented by the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, the HCB award is a prize to stimulate a photographer's creativity by offering the opportunity to carry out a project that would otherwise be difficult to  achieve. It is intended for a photographer who have already completed a significant body of work, a talented photographer in the emerging phase of his or her career, with an approach close to that of documentary. (Taken from the official Henri Cartier-Bresson website) 

Inta Ruka

 Nataša Kurova. II. No cikla Amālijas iela 5a. Rīga, 2004 

Inta Ruka was born in 1958 and is a photographer from Latvia. She won the Spidola award of the Latvian culture foundation. She photographed people from her country from 1984 onwards. This photo is taken from her series Amalias Street 5. In this series she focuses on the people of the Riga apartments. Riga is the largest city and capital of Latvia which has a history of change since its integration into the European Union in 2004. During world war II it was occupied by the Soviet Union and then Nazi Germany , when all the Jewish communities were forced to live in Riga Ghetto. 

Ruka's photos are full of personality, charm and narrative. But more importantly they illustrate a family friendly environment in a street that holds 100 years of history. Ruka mainly takes portraits which are honest and pure.In this video she explains in more detail about Amalias street, Riga. 

Christer Stromholm

Cuenca 1961/1981

'It is the art of SEEING that is the starting point for all creativity, and then, of course, every profession is subject to its specific mathematics and material conditions'

Chris Stromholm was born in Stockholm in 1918 he discovered photography in the late 1940 via graphic art. Initially his photos were very hard black and white compositions reminiscent of minimalist art. In the late 1950s after visiting Paris, his photos became softer and reminiscent of street photography. Stromholm travelled worldwide to take his photos. 

This photo was taken in Cuenca, Spain, I think it reflects (in several ways via composition and subject, the military background Stromholm was brought up in and the fact that he is a male photographer. In comparison Inta Ruka's photographs are more sensitive. 

Stromholm spent a lot of time in Spain, initially for a report he had to get and a film that had to be made and he soon  became deeply interested in the country and the war there. He recalls the war as 'so unromantic, everything was crazy. It was at the battle of Gandesa, and there was a cavalry attack' He also adopted an anti-communist attitude during the hostility he observed between the anarchists and communists. He then left spain to go back to his art studies and journalism, but it was not until the late 50s that he returned to spain . He pictured life in a non thematic way , the story behind this photo is unknown but it was probably taken during his time there.

Jeanloup Sieff

Jeanloup Sieff was born in paris, but his parents were polish. He first became interested in the world of photography when he was 14 having recieved a photax plastic camera for his birthday. In 1953 he attended photography school in Paris and later on moved to study in Switzerland. Sieff had a keen interest in dance. His photos remind me in some ways of Degas' series of ballet paintings. Sieff captures mood incredibly sensitively here.