The Big Picture Vol. VIII
Karen Glaser - Tampa's Eighth Photographer Laureate
Statement below
(The following images are samples of the photographer's past works - they are not part of the Big Picture Volume 8)
 

Artist’s Statement:
The Hillsborough River: Green Swamp to Tampa Bay

Florida is a most alluring state and a puzzle of contradictions. Like so many others, the seductive nature of the state draws me back year after year. The first time I photographed in Florida was 1992. I have returned every year since continuing a photographic investigation of Florida’s wild freshwaters. Florida
has a truly interesting history and a remarkable cultural and natural heritage. It is home to some of the most unique natural areas in the world. That said it is no secret that there is a constant balancing act between the preservation of Florida’s wild areas and development. For me, the tie that binds all in this most diverse state is water. Florida is rich with springs, rivers, swamps, not to mention the Atlantic and the Gulf. Life-giving and life-sustaining, people have always settled by water. We have used it for recreation, as well as our creative and spiritual expression. Tampa is a great city that has grown up in just such a manner.

The Green Swamp is still a wild area. Like so many other natural areas in Florida, it is a relatively short drive from the city. This is where you will find the headwaters of the Hillsborough. In fact the Green Swamp is home to the headwaters of four rivers, the others being the Withlacoochee, Peace and Ocklawaha. For a visual artist, the paradoxical scenery—as I travel through time both culturally and naturally from the swamp to the city—can only be irresistibly compelling. I will allow the work to bend and flow, in whatever direction the experience takes me, all the while creating work that reflects the life and character of Tampa in a very special way.

Karen Glaser has photographed in Florida for nearly 20 years. Her first work was on manatees, from which a show with the Smithsonian came about, as well as a book with the University Press of Florida. She then expanded to working in the springs and rivers found in the north and central part of the state. In 2002, she received a commission from the Miami Dade Art in Public Places to create a permanent 226-foot mural for the Seaport and she was awarded Artist in Residencies at Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park where she photographed everything from under and above water in the swamp, to fires. Glaser was also a recent Fellow at Florida’s prestigious Hermitage Artists Retreat. In 2011 the Southeast Museum of Photography will present a mid career survey of my work that will showcase 60-70 large-scale photographs as well as a publication.

Learn more about the artist at http://www.karenglaserphotography.com