A UNIQUELY CANADIAN EYE
The Toronto Star, Canada
March 1, 2015 Sunday
One hundred years after his birth, Library and Archives Canada has
completed its collection of images by landscape photographer Malak
Karsh. The thousands of photos are a vast love letter to the beauty
of this country
Malak Karsh was a seeker of beauty, and he found it in Canada’s
frigid Arctic, blooming Ottawa tulips and still Alberta lakes. Chances
are you’ve owned a Malak Karsh – it was his 1963 photograph of logs
floating behind Parliament Hill that once graced the $1 bill.
On what would be the photographer’s 100th birthday, Library and
Archives Canada has announced it has acquired a collection of about
200,000 of Karsh’s photographs taken between 1968 and 2001, completing
a collection of his earlier work acquired in 1985.
Karsh, born in Armenian Turkey, immigrated to Canada in 1937 to
apprentice with his brother, portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh.
Initially, the two brothers diversified so they didn’t compete with
each other. While Malak shot portraits occasionally, he was known
for his landscape and nature photography.
In the 1960s, he was hired by a Canadian government tourism bureau to
travel across the country and take photographs. He became enchanted
with the land.
“After that, he would spend his own money; he would select places he’d
want to go, take the pictures and build up a very large archive of
stock photography that he and my mother would market to publications
like the Michelin Guide and many calendars and textbooks,” said Sidney
Karsh, one of Malak’s four children.
Ottawa was always home – Malak loved to document and promote the
region. (He is called the “spiritual father of the Canadian Tulip
Festival” for his role in its creation and was later given a key to
the city.)
His trademark shooting style was from up high, so he always had
assistants to carry a ladder for him – including Sidney, who remembers
how they’d be up at the “crack of dawn” to capture the early morning
light, and how all meals were eaten as quickly as possible so as not
to miss the sun.
Karsh, who received the Order of Canada, was shooting pictures until
his death in 2001.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Emil Lazarian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
Direct link to this article: https://www.armenianclub.com/2015/03/02/art-a-uniquely-canadian-eye/
