Iceland review - 2014, Side 18

16 ICELAND REVIEW
photographY
they got married, most of them quit
working. And women who decided to
pursue a career in photography nei-
ther married nor had children. it is as
if they had to choose.”
katrín proceeds to tell the story of
katrín norgaard-vigfússon, who in
1939 was the only woman to partici-
pate on behalf of iceland in a nordic
exhibition celebrating 100 years of
photography. “After that, she never
got a break; many disliked the fact that
she was allowed to take part. At least,
her photographs were never displayed
in iceland, until now. Fortunately,
her family had kept them all those
years. it is hard to understand: as soon
as these women became successful,
opportunities stopped coming. until
30 years ago, most female photogra-
phers only got to be assistants or work
in the darkroom. except for photogra-
phers like Sigríður Zoëga, who always
worked independently and enjoyed a
long and successful career, this really
used to be a man’s world.”
katrín emphasizes that most of
the photographs at the exhibition are
being displayed for the very first time.
“Apparently, domestic life and similar
subject matter were not deemed wor-
thy in years gone by. These women
are finally getting the recognition
they deserve, and perhaps that’s what
makes this such an interesting exhi-
bition. These photographs of, say, a
baby in its feeding chair or an old lady
standing by her kitchen counter, are a
priceless reminder of a bygone era.” *
“These women are finally getting the recognition they deserve, and
perhaps that’s what makes this such an interesting exhibition.”
Pentecost, 1957. an unidentified woman, deep in thought, at Snæfellsjökull glacier.
Photo by ingibjörg ólafsdóttir.