Karen Safer

Artist Statement

Karen Safer Condensed Statement:

I got a camera and some crayons as a kid,
journeyed along a path in life - far from what I'd expected,
moved from youth to middle age,
did some work, had some fun, got high, got low,
and just continue doing it - never tiring of the next visual surprise.
- Life is still a mystery, after all.

I am a photographic artist & poet, writer and native Angelino, living at the edge of the Pacific Ocean. I was given camera & crayons at 3 and exposed to California motifs: light, trees, ocean, music & architecture that defined my left-handed aesthetic. I was influenced by my dad’s photographic ability (he developed B&W photos in back washroom) and my mother’s thirst for knowledge and travel. I have a master’s art degree, career in design/architecture, exhibits in 590+ shows, 560+ awards including Julia Margaret Cameron and traveled to 233+ countries/territories.

I began taking pictures of family/friends in youth, studied painting and drawing then began developing black and white photos in college. I am a student of the universe, art, architecture, history, literature, film, and music and heavily influenced by everything from ancient Assyrians to Vermeer to Hopper and from Atget to Cindy Sherman. I embrace the natural and urban environments, and while I drink color in all its vibrance, I venerate black and white. I am a “citizen of the world” and “romantic soul” with intellectual cravings living in a Digital World.

I have traveled around the world a hundred times and now my photographs are doing the traveling for me on five continents. They are traveling back to places I have memories that reflect the cultures, people and environments I intimately have interacted.