Märta Berglund, The Artist Time Forgot
Text Dante Grossfeld
The artist who received their flowers only after death. Sadly, this is a tale as old as time. Look no further than some of the biggest names in the arts: Vincent van Gogh, Emily Dickinson or Franz Kafka, to name a few. Luckily, what they all have in common is that each artist finally did receive their fair share of posthumous attention. The release of the documentary film Frozen Moments: Märta Berglund has added yet another name to this lengthy list. Märta Berglund was a photographer active in Visby, on the Swedish island of Gotland, in the 1920’s. She had her own photography studio, and in her work, she photographed many, if not most of the inhabitants of the island. Still, her art has been all but lost to time. At least that was until the fractured glass negatives of her photos were discovered in a landfill. The negatives were recovered and are being restored, and now, Florence Montmare, a world-renowned photographer and a distant relative of Berglund, has taken it upon herself to showcase Berglund’s work to the world.
In Frozen Moments, Montmare works with archivists to piece together the fragmented negatives. The photos, which are taken in Berglund’s studio and in other locations around Visby, usually depict various people in relaxed poses looking straight down the barrel of the camera, clearly conveying each subject’s innermost emotions. Some of the photos incorporate elements of surrealism by playing with reflections and long exposure times as well as themes of spirituality and the occult.
Photography Ferdinand Flodin
Image courtesy Florence Montmare
When Montmare is not on screen listening to various experts share their opinions on some of Berglund’s most thought-provoking pieces, the 43-minute-long film lets Berglund’s photos speak for themselves, with much of the runtime simply being dedicated to displaying the shattered, midnight blue glass negatives. These segments are soundtracked by eerie ambient music that emphasizes their captivating nature just as well as it does the unjustness of the discarding of Berglund’s life work. As the camera lingers on each photo, Montmare, through voiceover narration, shares her appreciation for the skill and intention that went into crafting each photo, and the soul, charm, playfulness and mystery that Berglund managed to infuse within them all.
The thesis of the film becomes abundantly clear: to prove that Berglund was a true artist; and at this it succeeds, thanks in large part to its gentleness. The film’s slow pace gives the audience room to absorb every photo and to think for themselves, and together with Montmare’s narration, which is at once insightful and heartwarming, it comes together to form a touching tribute to Berglund, an underappreciated artist who truly was ahead of her time Frozen Moments: Märta Berglund is available to watch on SVT Play.
