Viggo Rivad
Encyclopedia
Viggo Rivad is a Danish photographer
who started as an autodidact in 1946 and went on to win numerous competitions in the 1950s and 1960s. Around 1960, he adopted his so-called essay approach resulting in series of related photographs such as Et farvel (1962) and Laurits (1971). Rivad, who has also earned a living as a taxi driver, is a quiet, dedicated photographer, concentrating on disadvantaged areas and people on the fringes of society. His humanitarian messages are a result of his indignation and his concern for society's outcasts.
, one of the poorer districts of Copenhagen
. He had had a number of jobs and had attempted to become both a racing cyclist and a painter before he began photographing Copenhagen's coffee bars and night life in the 1940s. In the 1950s, with his photographs of the slums of Paris and Barcelona, he developed a reputation as Denmark's leading humanitarian photographic documentalist.
in Copenhagen with the photographer acting as a model. His ostensibly spontaneous pictures, which were frequently submitted to newspaper competitions, were often carefully prearranged compositions designed to convey a clear message. This approach was very different from that of most amateur photographs at the time.
Rivad developed the photographic essay, a documentary work often in the form of series of photographs. He had been inspired by the series he had seen in photo books and in Paris Match
and Life
as well as by the 1957 Family of Man exhibition in Copenhagen
. His technique often consisted of starting with a few rather subdued images leading up to ever stronger and more exciting ones, before the final culmination. He would frequently change the chronological sequencing so that his pictures were not so much "pictures of a story" as "a story in pictures". The essay approach also allowed him to delve more deeply into a given topic.
The sequence "Et farvel" (A Goodbye) in 1962 was his breakthrough. In it, he follows an elderly woman who takes leave of her husband lying on his deathbed and then leaves the hospital. It was published in the Danish magazine Focus in 1963. The essay consisted of only three photographs but the spacing and pauses between them was just as evocative as the pictures themselves. "Among the most gripping Danish amateur photographs ever taken" was the magazine's comment.
It was his sympathy for the less well-off in society which inspired him to compose essays such as "Fru Svendsen" (Mrs Svendsen) (1963), "Franskmanden" (The Frenchman) (1963) and "En Barberstue" (A Barber's Shop) (1969). In contrast to the high-society reports in the weeklies, his essays showed that stories could be told about society's most ordinary people.
In 1969, the cultural group M59 invited him to exhibit, demonstrating that photography had become an art. His work became all the more appreciated at the end of the 1960s when there was growing interest in the working classes and in disadvantaged members of society. In 1972, Rivad's series on the occupation of the Fredensgården district of Copenhagen was typical of the times when more attention was given to demonstrators and those affected by conflicts than to the politicians involved. The series was published in "8 Skildinger", which came out in 1975.
During the course of his career, Rivad has produced photographic series on Spain
, Morocco
, Israel
, Mexico
, Venice
, the Sahara
, the Soviet Union
, Auschwitz, China
, Yemen
, Central Asia
, Venezuela
, Ethiopia
, Tunis
, Egypt
, Vietnam
, Laos
, Cuba
and Denmark
.
Photography in Denmark
Photography in Denmark has developed from strong participation and interest in the very beginnings of the art in 1839 to the success of a considerable number of Danes in the world of photography today...
who started as an autodidact in 1946 and went on to win numerous competitions in the 1950s and 1960s. Around 1960, he adopted his so-called essay approach resulting in series of related photographs such as Et farvel (1962) and Laurits (1971). Rivad, who has also earned a living as a taxi driver, is a quiet, dedicated photographer, concentrating on disadvantaged areas and people on the fringes of society. His humanitarian messages are a result of his indignation and his concern for society's outcasts.
Early life
Rivad was raised in NørrebroNørrebro
Nørrebro is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate , which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station.-Geography:...
, one of the poorer districts of Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. He had had a number of jobs and had attempted to become both a racing cyclist and a painter before he began photographing Copenhagen's coffee bars and night life in the 1940s. In the 1950s, with his photographs of the slums of Paris and Barcelona, he developed a reputation as Denmark's leading humanitarian photographic documentalist.
Photographic career
In 1946, at the age of 24, Viggo Rivad published two photographs in the Danish magazine Focus. They looked like stills taken from a movie. One of them, titled "Paris in Copenhagen", was taken beside the KnippelsbroKnippelsbro
Knippelsbro is a bascule bridge across the Inner Harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, connecting Børsgade on Zealand-side Slotsholmen to Torvegade on Christianshavn...
in Copenhagen with the photographer acting as a model. His ostensibly spontaneous pictures, which were frequently submitted to newspaper competitions, were often carefully prearranged compositions designed to convey a clear message. This approach was very different from that of most amateur photographs at the time.
Rivad developed the photographic essay, a documentary work often in the form of series of photographs. He had been inspired by the series he had seen in photo books and in Paris Match
Paris Match
Paris Match is a French weekly magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. It was founded in 1949 by the industrialist Jean Prouvost....
and Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
as well as by the 1957 Family of Man exhibition in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. His technique often consisted of starting with a few rather subdued images leading up to ever stronger and more exciting ones, before the final culmination. He would frequently change the chronological sequencing so that his pictures were not so much "pictures of a story" as "a story in pictures". The essay approach also allowed him to delve more deeply into a given topic.
The sequence "Et farvel" (A Goodbye) in 1962 was his breakthrough. In it, he follows an elderly woman who takes leave of her husband lying on his deathbed and then leaves the hospital. It was published in the Danish magazine Focus in 1963. The essay consisted of only three photographs but the spacing and pauses between them was just as evocative as the pictures themselves. "Among the most gripping Danish amateur photographs ever taken" was the magazine's comment.
It was his sympathy for the less well-off in society which inspired him to compose essays such as "Fru Svendsen" (Mrs Svendsen) (1963), "Franskmanden" (The Frenchman) (1963) and "En Barberstue" (A Barber's Shop) (1969). In contrast to the high-society reports in the weeklies, his essays showed that stories could be told about society's most ordinary people.
In 1969, the cultural group M59 invited him to exhibit, demonstrating that photography had become an art. His work became all the more appreciated at the end of the 1960s when there was growing interest in the working classes and in disadvantaged members of society. In 1972, Rivad's series on the occupation of the Fredensgården district of Copenhagen was typical of the times when more attention was given to demonstrators and those affected by conflicts than to the politicians involved. The series was published in "8 Skildinger", which came out in 1975.
During the course of his career, Rivad has produced photographic series on Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Auschwitz, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
Awards
- 1974: Viggo Rivad was the first photographer to be awarded the three-year work grant from the Danish Arts Agency
- 1984: Thorvald Bindesbøll Medal
- 2004: Fogtdal Photographers AwardFogtdal Photographers AwardThe Fogtdal Photographers Awards is the largest awards programme dedicated specifically to Danish photography. It was established in 2004 by Danish publisher Per Fogtdal. The awards programme consists of an Honarary Award, rewarded with DKK 250,000, and five other awards, each rewarded with a...