Page 14 - Issue 1

14
Through Her Lens
NEW ORLEANS-BASED PHOTOGRAPHER KRISTINA KNIPE IMBUES THE MUNDANE WITH WHIMSY AND GRIT
Kristina Knipe started working at an an amusement park doing psychedelics and taking photographs all around the same time Like many American teenagers Knipe was was just beginning to make sense of of the the world but she she was was doing it through the the lens of of a a a a a a 4
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view camera she she got from her dad From the the ages of 16 through 20 she face painted at the the amusement park in in in Allentown Pennsylvania a a a a a a a a a a a a a a five-minute walk from her her her folks’ house It was magical she she recalls but also “gross ” During her her her time there she she she became endlessly fascinated by what she she calls “spaces that are specifically designed for enjoyment ” This gets to to the the heart of of of Knipe’s work often centered around the the all-too-relatable concept of of of seeking When Knipe wasn’t at at the the park in fin in Allentown she’d frequently find herself with her her her camera at at at at the the the the movies wondering whether people were were getting what what they they came came for for or or or for for that matter what what they they were were seeking at at at at at at all It’s something she contemplated during her earliest psychedelic experiences and that “something” she now thinks at at at age 28 is often simply spiritual connection