Inta Ruka
Encyclopedia
Inta Ruka is a Latvia
n photographer.
Ruka received a scholarship
of the Hasselblad Foundation
in 1998, the Spidola Award of the Latvian Culture Foundation in 1999 and a scholarship of the Villa Waldberta in Feldafing in 2002. One year later the Artist's Union of Latvia awarded her the "Price of the Year 2003." Inta Ruka's photographs has already been presented in several important international exhibitions. In 1999 Ruka took part at the 48th Biennale of Venice that finally publicised her name internationally. In 2006 the Photography Centre in Istanbul
organised a large solo-show of her photos. Until January 2007 her photographs were shown together with works by Wolfgang Tillmans
, Boris Mikhailov
and other famous artists in the exhibition "In the Face of History: European Photographers in the 20th Century" at the Barbican Arts Centre in London
.
Since more than two decades Inta Ruka is photographing the people of her country – from 1984 to 2000 primarily in the rural area of Balvi ("My Country People") and later on increasingly in the Latvian capital of Riga
. In the series "People I happened to meet" she strikes up conversations with unknown people in order to ask them for a portrait. By contrast in "Amalias Street 5" she is focusing on the inhabitants of a certain ensemble of apartments in Riga. Off the beaten track of the picturesque
Old Town with the entire restored tourist features she provides an undisguised view on the current state of flux in Latvia
since its integration into the European Union
. In the former Soviet bloc countries, she shares her documentary-anthropological approach with Anatanas Sutkus and Boris Mikhailov
and internationally with Americans Walker Evans
and Dorothea Lange
.
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n photographer.
Ruka received a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
of the Hasselblad Foundation
Hasselblad Foundation
The Erna and Victor Hasselblad Foundation, established in 1979, is a fully independent, not-for-profit foundation. The main aim of the Foundation is to promote research and academic teaching in the natural sciences and photography. The Foundation also presents an annual international award in...
in 1998, the Spidola Award of the Latvian Culture Foundation in 1999 and a scholarship of the Villa Waldberta in Feldafing in 2002. One year later the Artist's Union of Latvia awarded her the "Price of the Year 2003." Inta Ruka's photographs has already been presented in several important international exhibitions. In 1999 Ruka took part at the 48th Biennale of Venice that finally publicised her name internationally. In 2006 the Photography Centre in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
organised a large solo-show of her photos. Until January 2007 her photographs were shown together with works by Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans is a German Fine-art photographer and artist. His comprehensive and diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations. In 2000, Tillmans was the first photographer and also the first...
, Boris Mikhailov
Boris Mikhailov
Boris Mikhailov may refer to:*Boris Mikhailov , former Soviet international ice hockey player*Borislav Mikhailov, President of the Bulgarian Football Union, and former Bulgarian international*Boris Mikhailov...
and other famous artists in the exhibition "In the Face of History: European Photographers in the 20th Century" at the Barbican Arts Centre in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Since more than two decades Inta Ruka is photographing the people of her country – from 1984 to 2000 primarily in the rural area of Balvi ("My Country People") and later on increasingly in the Latvian capital of Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
. In the series "People I happened to meet" she strikes up conversations with unknown people in order to ask them for a portrait. By contrast in "Amalias Street 5" she is focusing on the inhabitants of a certain ensemble of apartments in Riga. Off the beaten track of the picturesque
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
Old Town with the entire restored tourist features she provides an undisguised view on the current state of flux in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
since its integration into the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. In the former Soviet bloc countries, she shares her documentary-anthropological approach with Anatanas Sutkus and Boris Mikhailov
Boris Mikhailov (photographer)
Boris Andreyevich Mikhailov is a fine art photographer who has been described as one of the most important artists to have emerged from the former USSR...
and internationally with Americans Walker Evans
Walker Evans
Walker Evans was an American photographer best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans's work from the FSA period uses the large-format, 8x10-inch camera...
and Dorothea Lange
Dorothea Lange
Dorothea Lange was an influential American documentary photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration...
.