KAREN  AMY  FINKEL  FISHOF
CONTEMPORARY ARTIST

My work engages public conversations around contemporary topics, including women's issues, politics, culture, heritage, trauma, and family, utilizing the silhouette as a vehicle for impact. My photograms reflect my personal awakenings as I "think out loud" on paper.

Each artwork narrates an epiphanous awakening as I build my character — questioning the belief system I was raised on. I explore how modern women navigate traditional roles and expectations, addressing taboo issues often overlooked.

Having lived as both a secular and orthodox woman, I bring a unique perspective to my art, informed by the duality of my experiences. My struggle to reconcile these distinct realities finds clarity through my creative process.
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The heart of my art lies in the photogram process. It unfolds on the floor of the darkroom, where I meticulously arrange people, objects, and text on top of the photo paper placed on the floor. I then expose that scene to light and develop the paper through conventional methods. My practice reveals what is hidden within the human figure, capturing the ephemeral and imperfect through a tactile, immersive process. This process is deeply physical, wet, and messy, reflecting the fragility of transformation. By immersing the paper by hand into photo-chemicals, I invite chance, accidents, and imperfection to leave their mark. The chemistry runs across the surface like time, freezing its motion alongside the silhouetted figures. The smudges and disruptions become a record of time and presence, rich with mistakes and memory. This interplay of light and dark creates an intimate space that is raw, layered, and alive. 

 

My aesthetic centers on the human body. When drafting these theatrical stills, a presence remains of the individuals, akin to the handprints on the Hollywood "Walk of Fame." You are aware that the figure had physical contact with the artwork. Each piece carries a tangible presence encapsulated within the paper, a physical link between creator, subject, and material that disrupts the historical conventions of photography and portraiture. The resulting photograms transform three-dimensional humans into two-dimensional light impressions that retain a sculptural essence, presenting figures as painterly, ghostlike apparitions. These photograms unveil intricate details like bone structure, hair, and clothing while transporting the floating figures into dramatic dreamscapes. Persons and objects serve a double role. Not only are the figures actors in a drama, they are also portraits of the models and reflect their inherent personalities and physical features as the light reveals their inherent form. We are forced to recognize a new aspect of the person or object touching the surface, its unique construction. The entire creative process fascinates me from the moment of exposure to the revelation of the image in the chemistry. The absence of a negative delivers a rush of adrenaline, knowing that this is a one-time opportunity. Each step in the process is a profound moment of discovery, visually and personally.

 

Through this practice, I address difficult issues, using light to draw these awakenings into being.  Each piece, an interplay of intention and spontaneous improvisation, is realized as its own unique story. Facing life-sized replicas of the human form to scale invites viewers into personal reflection, asking, "What do I see of myself in this?" These stark, vulnerable figures create a human connection, compelling the viewer to confront both the subject and themselves. By capturing the essence of dispossession of body, presence, and identity, these works present an alternative, luminous narrative. We cannot help but form a human connection with the humanity we are facing. Each piece is timeless and relevant, whose shadowing beings invite the viewer to breathe along with them.