Karl Lärka

Karl Lärka (born 24 July 1892 at Sollerön in Dalarna, Sweden, died 2 June 1981) was one of the more important 20th-century documentary photographers in Sweden. Lärka's prime concern was to document the peasant culture that he understood was beginning to disappear, the culture of the lands around lake Siljan in Dalarna, one with agriculture, forestry and many people with stories about older times. Most of his photography was done from 1916 to 1934, and he combined it with lecture tours about the countryside of Siljan. He also documented many of the stories elderly people in the villages told him and was very active in the Swedish local heritage movement that started in the 1920s. More than 4,200 of his photographic plates are today in the municipal archive of Mora.

Karl Lärka's photographs are characterized by his concern to document a disappearing culture. People, animals and buildings are portrayed in their own context. The people cultivate the land, work in the forest, build houses, wash clothes, cook or pose with working horses. He describes weddings, people, interiors, transhumance and village streets with a great sense of feeling for composition and quality.

Many of Lärka's portraits are typically documentary. People are portrayed in their daily chores, often in positions and with attributes they choose themselves. They differ significantly from the studio portraits of that time, in which people often dressed up and posed. With his connection to the Swedish labour movement, Lärka was known as a "democratic photographer". He let people decide for themselves what to wear, how they wanted to stand, and whether or not they should smile or not. The documentary work procedure of Lärka is also shown in his recording of older people's stories, a method he combined with his photography.

During his photographic career, Lärka experienced great developments in photographic technique. In the early days of the 20th century he used photographic plates, like all other serious photographers. He got his first box camera during his time at a folk high school. Later he changed for a larger-format American camera acquired from a retailer who had bought it for photographing thieves in his shop at Sollerön.

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