She's Got Your Back.
"Karen Kuehn is one of the greatest living portrait artists of our generation. Now, I say that without hesitation and with twenty years experience of hanging my ass out there as an art director, creative director and publisher. See, here's the thing: in an overly-saturated world of professional photography, there are surprisingly few real artists who know how to not only manipulate light, but the subject's soul in the pursuit of making a photograph. That's right – I said "making," not "taking." Taking a photo is for camera phones and frustrated hipsters who never got the band back together. Making a photograph is for artists like Karen who bleed for their craft and care about the work and die a little each time the shoot wraps and know how to actually make a print, for chrissakes.
And, while whoever thought that making a photograph could be combined with commercial endeavors to sell shit should be strung up and beaten, I will say that my career in that very pursuit has been made successful in no small way by Karen's professionalism, understanding and mastery of that horrid mash-up. I've trusted Karen with million-dollar relationships and labors of love – all of which she's treated with the utmost respect while producing nothing short of arresting, memorable work.
While the world needs more Karen in it, I don't know if it deserves as much. I think Karen and her work should be a rare experience reserved for those who've earned it and will be the stewards of it. But we should all strive for the opportunity."
Dan Stoner
Founder AUTOCULT
"Karen Kuehn is one of the greatest living portrait artists of our generation. Now, I say that without hesitation and with twenty years experience of hanging my ass out there as an art director, creative director and publisher. See, here's the thing: in an overly-saturated world of professional photography, there are surprisingly few real artists who know how to not only manipulate light, but the subject's soul in the pursuit of making a photograph. That's right – I said "making," not "taking." Taking a photo is for camera phones and frustrated hipsters who never got the band back together. Making a photograph is for artists like Karen who bleed for their craft and care about the work and die a little each time the shoot wraps and know how to actually make a print, for chrissakes.
And, while whoever thought that making a photograph could be combined with commercial endeavors to sell shit should be strung up and beaten, I will say that my career in that very pursuit has been made successful in no small way by Karen's professionalism, understanding and mastery of that horrid mash-up. I've trusted Karen with million-dollar relationships and labors of love – all of which she's treated with the utmost respect while producing nothing short of arresting, memorable work.
While the world needs more Karen in it, I don't know if it deserves as much. I think Karen and her work should be a rare experience reserved for those who've earned it and will be the stewards of it. But we should all strive for the opportunity."
Dan Stoner
Founder AUTOCULT
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