Karen Knorr
Karen Knorr was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the 1960s. She finished her education in Paris and London. Karen has taught, exhibited, and lectured internationally, including at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, The University of Westminster, Goldsmiths, Harvard, and The Art Institute of Chicago. She studied at the University of Westminster in the mid-1970s, exhibiting photography that addressed debates in cultural studies and film theory concerning the ‘politics of representation’ practices that emerged during the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is currently Professor of Photography at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham, Surrey.
In her Fables series (2004-2008,) Knorr playfully mixes analog and digital photography, reconfiguring tales from Ovid, Aesop, and La Fontaine with popular culture like Disney and Attenborough in museums and heritage sites. These include the Carnavalet Museum, the Museum of Hunt and Nature in Paris, Chambord Castle, the Conde Museum in Chantilly Castle, and Versailles. The visual style of these photographs is rich with reference to the baroque. In the last section of the work, Knorr interrogated the free-flowing space of modern architecture in Corbusier’s Villa Savoye, reintroducing life into the modernist aesthetic of a building.
Since her life-changing journey to Rajasthan, India, in 2008, Karen Knorr’s work explores the Rajput and Mughal cultural heritage and its relationship to feminine subjectivity and animality. India Song, a series of carefully crafted photographs, explores the past and its relation to India’s contemporary heritage sites across Rajasthan. Since 2012 Knorr has visited Japan to reflect on tradition within contemporary Japan, referencing Ukiyo-e prints and folktales connected to Shinto and Buddhist heritage sites. Her first series, entitled Monogatari, places animals and humans in temple sites found in Nara, Kyoto, Tokyo, and Ohara. Her second related series, Karyukai, is inspired by Kano’s 36 portraits of poets, also referencing “bijinga” prints of the 17th century. Women photographed by Karen Knorr were asked to compose waka and haiku, reflecting on their life and dreams. Knorr’s photography is visually seductive and offers the viewer aspects of the universe from different concepts of civilization and the potential and richness of the natural world. Her photographs are alluring mixes of opulent and historical locations with anthropomorphic animals. She creates imaginary narratives that question our societies and their significance on our individual free will.
SELECTED MUSEUM COLLECTIONS:
• Tate London, London, UK
• Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
• Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, FR
• Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, FR
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, US
• National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, JP
Photography & Works
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Karen Knorr
The Winds of Change, Villa Farnese, Caprarola (Metamorphoses) Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
Heaven’s Vault, Villa Farnese, Caprarola (Metamorphoses) Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The Divine Heritage of the Yadavas, Sheesh Mahal, Karauli City Palace Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
Journey to the Great Sage, Jikko-in Temple, Ohara Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The Parampara, Ramlalji Jainarayan Tibrewala Haveli, Bissau Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
Avatars of Devi, Zanana, Samode Palace Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
Flight to Freedom, Durbar Hall, Dungarpur Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
Friends in Need, Juna Mahal, Dungarpur Palace Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
Guarding Honour, Kota City Palace, Kota Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
Immaculate Conception, Villa D’Este Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
Krishna’s Crown, Jawa Mahal, Jaipur Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
Reconciliation, Poddar Haveli, Nawalgarh Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
Sikander’s Entrance, Chandra Mahal, Jaipur City Palace, Jaipur Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The Alchemy of Happiness, Alcazar, Seville Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The Battle Gallery, Château Chantilly Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The Maharaja’s Apartment, Udaipur City Palace Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The Messenger, Purana Qila, New Delhi Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The One Spoken To By Angels, Jama Masjid Delhi Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The Peacemaker, Chandra Mahal, Jaipur Palace Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The Queen’s Room, Zanana, Udaipur City Palace Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The Sound of Rain, Junagarh Fort, Bikaner Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The Witness, Humayun’s Tomb, New Delhi Add to cart