Contemporary Photographer Portrait: Allyson Klutenkamper

     Klutenkamper was born in 1978 and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She received an MFA from the University of Notre Dame in 2005 and her BFA from the University of Missouri, Columbia in 2002.  

     Circumstances is the title of one of her more popular series that explores different perceptions of events and experiences between siblings with gaps in ages. In this series she also investigates the construction of memory and the definition of "self" and how it evolves. 

     Her images explore domestic interiors, seeing how the home is most often viewed as a place of comfort and a place of family gathering.  The domestic locations are used as a metaphor for the psyche.  She stated that she has found a place where she can create her own subverted reality and confront psychological connections between the viewer and herself. 

     There is a narrative created in the photographs through a juxtaposition between character and domestic space that is depersonalized. The characters are primarily females that are void of distinct individuality. This represents anxiety, constant perplexity, and isolation. Through her work, Klutenkamper hopes the viewer sees beauty as an experience rather than a condition. The photos are strong enough to stand on their own in addition to working successfully in a narrative series. 

     The photos she has created are very interesting to me. I have been exploring visually representing such concepts that she is depicting and I love the way she does. It is very subtle and powerful in the same. You could look at her photos for long amounts of time and realize different things about them, or change your mind about what it means and how it makes you feel.

Circumstance #22

Circumstance #3

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