Beata Bergström

Beata Bergström
Born(1921-08-13)13 August 1921
Uddevalla, Sweden
Died12 October 2016(2016-10-12) (aged 95)
NationalitySwedish
OccupationPhotographer
Years active1953–2016
Known forTheatre photography and portraiture

Hedvig Beata Marianne Bergström (née Björkman) (13 August 1921 – 12 October 2016) was a Swedish photographer.[1] She is known for her portraits and dance and theatre images taken at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, Royal Swedish Opera, Vasa Theatre and other Stockholm theatres.

Career

Bergström studied at the Otte Sköld painting school in the late 1940s and then worked as a photography apprentice. She started her career as a theatre photographer in 1953 when she took photographs of the Cramer Ballet at the Chat Noir in Oslo.[2]

At the same time, she photographed a rehearsal at the Royal Dramatic Theatre of Olof Molander's Oresteia for the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.[3] This led to her working there for 30 years and a collaboration with Ingmar Bergman for about 10 years starting with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.[4] She continued to work freelance at a number of theatres and dance companies including the Royal Swedish Opera, Gamla Stan Theatre, the Stockholm City Theatre, Vasateatern, Uppsala's Little Theatre, and Folkteatern. She also worked with the Swedish magazines Industria and Vi.[2] She photographed numerous people in the Swedish theatrical scene including Ingmar Bergman,[5][6][7] Anders Ek,[8] Ernst-Hugo Järegård, Sif Ruud, Ulf Palme, Elsa-Marianne von Rosen, and Mimi Pollak.[3]

Style

Up until Bergström, theatrical photography was staged, whereby actors and sets were arranged in tableaux. Bergström changed this by having a more documentary approach, where she photographed actual rehearsals and performances.[2]

Personal life

Bergström had a son, Stefan, and lived until her death on 12 October 2016 in Järna, Sweden.[3]

Exhibitions

Bergman in Focus – Nobel Laureates Find a Director, 21 September 2008 to 18 January 2009, Photographers K.G. Kristoffersson, Lennart Nilsson, Beata Bergström, Bo-Erik Gyberg, Per Adolphson, Arne Carlsson and Bengt Wanselius.[9]
Photo, 19 April 2013 to 6 January 2014, Beata Bergström, Music and Theatre Museum, Stockholm.[10]

Bibliography

Swedish Design, Denise Hagsromer, atelj'e bellander and Beata Bergström (photographs), Sweden, nordisk rotogravyr, 1958.
Ten Years with the Royal Dramatic Theatre (in Swedish), Beata Bergström, Stockholm, Nord. rotogravure, 1964, OCLC Number 16689310
Theater – Art of the Moment Captured in Photos (in Swedish), Beata Bergström, Stockholm, Natur & Kultur, 1976, ISBN 91-27-00716-2
The Dynamics of the Living (in Swedish), Beata Bergström, Stockholm, Kosmos, 1976, ISBN 9789186066307.
Beyond a broad ocean: Kristina (in Swedish), Beata Bergstro¨m, Jan Mark, Lars Rudolfsson, Joel Berg, Lund, Leander Malmsten, 1996, ISBN 91-88700-267.

References

  1. ^ Ångström, Anna (October 29, 2016). "Beata Bergström 1921–2016" – via www.svd.se.
  2. ^ a b c "Beata Bergström". www.ingmarbergman.se. The Ingmar Bergman Foundation. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Thunberg, Karin (5 January 2014). ""Jag mår lite illa av att prata om Bergman" (in Swedish)". Svenska Dagbladet. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". www.ingmarbergman.se. The Ingmar Bergman Foundation. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  5. ^ Beata Bergström (3 July 2011). "Ingmar Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Marik Vos in the audience. (Woyzeck March 1969) (in Swedish)". www.ingmarbergman.se. The Ingmar Bergman Foundation. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  6. ^ Beata Bergström (3 July 2011). "Bergman and set designer Gunilla Palmstierna-Weiss. (Show March 1971) (in Swedish)". www.ingmarbergman.se. The Ingmar Bergman Foundation. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  7. ^ Beata Bergström (3 July 2011). "Anders Ek, Ingmar Bergman and Erland Josephson during the rehearsals of Investigation. (The Investigation February 1966) (in Swedish)". www.ingmarbergman.se. The Ingmar Bergman Foundation. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  8. ^ Beata Bergström (3 July 2011). "Anders Ek preparing for the show. (Show March 1971) (in Swedish)". www.ingmarbergman.se. The Ingmar Bergman Foundation. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  9. ^ "Bergman in Focus – Nobel Laureates Find a Director 2008.09.21–2009.01.18". www.nobelmuseum.se. Nobelmuseet AB. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  10. ^ "Beata Bergström / Music / Theatre Museum – 2013-04-19 – 2014-01-06 (in Swedish)". www.sfoto.se. Swedish Association of Professional Photographers. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.

Further reading