Kåre Kivijärvi (born 23 April 1938 in

Hammerfest Hammerfest or Hámmárfeasta is a town/cityIn the Norwegian language, the word ''by'' can be translated as "town" or "city". that is also the administrative centre of Hammerfest Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. It is located on the nor ...

- 20 November 1991) was a Norwegian

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

known for his photojournalistic work in

Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

. Kivijärvi was born into a

Kven KVEN (1520 AM, "") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Port Hueneme, California and serves the Ventura County area. The station is owned by Gold Coast Broadcasting and broadcasts a Spanish-language talk/sports format. By day ...

family and always professed a connection to his ethnic heritage and to

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. After working as a photographer's apprentice in ''

Finnmark Dagblad ''Finnmark Dagblad'' is a Norwegian daily newspaper, published in Hammerfest, Norway. The newspaper was founded in 1913 as ''Vestfinmarkens Socialdemokrat''. It changed its name to ''Vestfinnmark Arbeiderblad'' in 1923. From 1940 the newspaper ...

'', he was in 1959 accepted at Folkwangschule für Gestaltung in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, where he studied with Otto Steinert. After having served in the

Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) () is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximately 2,430 employees (officers, enlisted ...

as an aerial photographer, he accepted a position as staff photographer for ''

Helsingin Sanomat , abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital ...

''s weekly newsmagazine '' Viikkosanomat'', which brought him on assignment to

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. Kivijärvi's work was the first to be accepted by the main annual art exhibition in Norway, the Autumn Exhibition (''

Høstutstillingen Høstutstillingen or Statens kunstutstilling ( English: ''The Autumn Exhibition'' or ''National Art Exhibition'') is an annual art exhibition in Oslo, Norway. The exhibition is Norway's largest marking of contemporary art and takes place each aut ...

''). In this respect, it can be said that he contributed to establish photography as a distinct art form in Norway. Kivijärvi's photographic style is noted for its stark, sparse imagery. His photo essay on Laestadians in Northern Norway in 1962 is a noted example of this style, as are his depiction of desolate landscapes and harsh climates. There have been posthumous exhibitions, including one which started in June 2023 in

Vadsø Vadsø or Vadso may refer to: Places * Vadsø Municipality, a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway *Vadsø (town) (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), (Northern Sami language, Northern Sami; , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, tow ...

's Ruija kvenmuseu (a museum).

References

* Eli Høydalsnes: ''Kåre Kivijärvi : fotografier''; '' Bonytt'', 2001 * Flor, Harald
Klokt om Kivijärvi
. ''Dagbladet'', 28 December 2001. * Løberg, Morten M.
Nordic Light hedrer Kåre Kivijärvi (1931-1991): 'Min verden er en annen'
''Fotografi,'' 24 May 2007.

External links

Poem:"Homage to Kare Kivijarvi"
by Scottish writer John Burnside, including "The Inspiration Behind the Poem", published by Scottish Arts Council Vintage prints: http://www.galleribalder.com/portfolio91752.html 1938 births 1991 deaths Kven people Royal Norwegian Air Force personnel Norwegian photographers Norwegian photojournalists People from Hammerfest Norwegian expatriates in Germany 20th-century Norwegian journalists 20th-century Norwegian photographers 20th-century German photographers {{Norway-artist-stub