Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Karp

Erin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

When my dad gifted me his vintage Pentax Asahi camera in 1995, I had no idea I’d discover such magic and joy. I learned to develop film & make prints in the darkroom, a task I enjoyed and took quite seriously. I took only one photography class in college with my professor, Robin Schwartz, & my love for making photographs and developing prints in the darkroom exploded. She told me most people are either photographers or printers, not both, but that I was both. That meant so much to me & it stuck with me; my pride in making and exhibiting quality prints has never waned.

I begrudgingly transitioned to a digital SLR in 2009 after 3 months in Spain with my Pentax; I had held out for long enough. I decided that I would still be in control of the whole process, from clicking the shutter to making the prints. I still shoot manually in natural light & I don’t manipulate my images in Photoshop; I make only minor edits for the sake of the print, just as I would in the darkroom. The joy of holding a print in your hands is still magic, even without the chemical baths and the anticipation of seeing the image appear on the paper gradually. Now, the image appears differently, orderly, from top to bottom, but the excitement of the finished print remains.

My parents are both artists, my dad an abstract oil painter & my mom a fashion designer; I’m grateful for their support of my pursuit of the arts & for the nurturing and encouragement of art making, always. I started out focusing on details in nature, poetic moments, all shot black & white, but when I switched to digital, I started shooting in color & seeing in shapes & juxtapositions of light and shadow. I found myself drawn to architecture, particularly in Europe (I lived in Sevilla, Spain for a year), & developed a unique voice in my work. Still focused on details, now man-made, I began seeing in abstractions, everywhere. I stop in my tracks to spend time with shadows on a wall, while people walk by wondering what I see. I consider my work a meditation on calm and an expression of my curiosity about the world around me. I exhibit regularly, throughout the country; my work has won awards and is collected both publicly & privately. I’m thrilled to be making my international debut in an exhibit in Barcelona this November for the 21st Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, a global award for women photographers!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

Far from it! Being an artist is really tough (and expensive); it’s a life full of roller coaster emotions – the highs of being in exhibits and the lows of those same exhibits ending; the highs of acceptances and the lows of rejections, which I’ve managed to allow to be only fleeting at this point; the lulls in between shows. Luckily for me, though, my work has been recognized and exhibited consistently for many years now, in shows curated by everyone from museum curators to gallery owners/directors to established artists. As my dad sometimes reminds me, not every artist’s work is recognized, nor repeatedly. Sometimes I need those reminders. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished so far and of the fact that people who I respect immensely respond to my work and want to exhibit it and that others want to live with my art in their spaces; that is a huge honor for me. But, none of it is easy! I often have to remind myself to be nice to myself, so I offer that reminder to you, as well. It takes a lot of courage to put your art out in the world. You have to be self-motivated, which can be challenging, at times, especially if you are in a low. You have to be organized, curious, determined. You have to learn to have thick skin, if you don’t already, and accept that rejections are merely opinions and that they often have nothing to do with the quality of work, but result from a theme emerges from the submissions in which your work just doesn’t fit. Move on and find the next opportunity!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

I make architectural abstract photographs that embrace momentary juxtapositions of light, shadow, shape, & color.  Growing up surrounded by abstract art certainly informed my eye, and while I don’t paint, I see in an abstract way. My love for structure and shape stops me in my tracks when I see something I find fascinating and beautiful.  I was at the mall recently & stopped before I left because I was entranced by the light and reflections inside; I took a picture, showed the person I was with, and he was shocked.  He didn’t see what I saw, even though he was standing right next to me.  I experience that often while I am making photographs; a woman once stopped me in Utrecht, Holland to ask me what I was photographing because she saw nothing and was so curious. People pause to try to see what I am seeing because what they see is merely a wall and they probably think I’m crazy, but I see so much more.  When people actually see my photos, though, they understand.

Those who know my work recognize it as mine before they actually know it is mine, which I find to be a huge compliment.  I spoke with another artist last week and before we finished our chat, she said, “I have to tell you, so many of your photographs are emblazoned in my mind; they made such an impression on me; you have such a special way of seeing.  Now, when I walk through the city, I’ll see things and say, ‘Erin would love that!'”  An architect came to one of my most recent exhibits in Manhattan and told me my work reminds him why he became an architect in the first place; wow! That my work touches them, or anyone else, fills me with delight.  I have a giant heart and that comes with a lot of emotions; I make photographs to express those emotions and often to deal with them, and the fact that others respond to that feeling is incredibly gratifying to me.

I’ve built an extensive history of exhibitions at this point, but the caliber of these exhibitions has grown immensely over the years.  Curators from institutions like the MoMA, the Met, the Guggenheim, and other major museums & galleries have included my work in exhibitions.  One of my proudest moments was having a photo I made in Denver during the pandemic (my first trip, a year and a half in) included in an exhibit curated by Brinda Kumar, curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The image she included was really meaningful to me, as it represented freedom, exploration, hope, and curiosity, after such a dark period.  She not only included my photo, Echoes of Denver, but she awarded it and spoke about the piece at the reception.  She said the photo resonated with her because it wasn’t a recognizable spot, it wasn’t a “tourist photo, like of the Eiffel Tower; this is a very personal and abstracted view of what it means to be elsewhere, to imagine an elsewhere, and I think we’ve all needed to rely on that capacity during this time and art is an incredible medium in which to do that.”  She understood me, she understood my work; it touched her; that meant so much to me.

I am honored that the incredible Colorado Photographic Art Center in Denver featured my work for 4 months this year on their website and Instagram; their support, promotion of, and belief in my work is another important highlight of my career and has led to other opportunities for me.  I am really grateful to the organizations that lift up photographers as artists and connect us with an appreciative, engaged audience.  Art makes the world go round; it touches everyone, one way or another, and I believe it needs to be nurtured and encouraged, for the sake of humanity.

How do you think about happiness?

Being somewhere with no agenda, but to wander and see, makes me extraordinarily happy. When I travel somewhere, I generally don’t make plans, my days are unstructured; I am a free spirit who lives to let my eyes lead me to beautiful, unexpected moments. Beauty, in general, brings me joy; becoming a photographer was inevitable for me. Certain music brings me to tears because of its beauty and/or its melancholy, which I also find beautiful and necessary. Sunshine and blue skies make me happy, shadows and light make me happy. My family makes me happy; they are wonderful, supportive, smart, interesting people. Laughter. The feeling of laughing is so wonderful, so uplifting; I laugh a lot, and I’m pretty easy to make laugh, likely because I love the way laughing makes me feel. Meaningful encounters with strangers make me happy, even if I never see them again, but it’s even better when I do see them again. So many of my most wonderful friends – the bulk, actually – were met while traveling. People make impressions on us everywhere in life and we do the same for them; you never know what affect you will have on a person’s life and vice versa and I think that is beautiful. The joy of what could be makes me happy. Also, dogs. Dogs are simply wonderful creatures who make me smile, ear to ear!

Pricing:

• 18″x24″ limited editions of 15, framed, cost $1000.
• 11″x14″ limited editions of 18, framed, cost $450.
• Uneditioned 8.5″ x 11″ prints are $150.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.erinmkarp.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karpitecturalabstracts
• Other: https://cpacphoto.org/featured-cpac-member-erin-karp/ ••• https://www.projections.live/erin-karp

Image Credits

©Erin M. Karp