Kat Moser: Amalgamations

Kat Moser: Amalgamations by Aline SmithsonJune 7, 2015

Tangled Up in Blue ©Kat Moser

Kat Moser explores the female form and aspects of earth and water through her painterly and ethereal photographs. She is inspired by age-old narratives experienced in fairy tales, mythology, and legends, resulting in gestural combinations of color, form, light and idea.

Using a converted infrared camera, Kat often depicts women as wholly integrated elements of the natural environment, ranging from peaceful bodies of water to rugged, unforgiving terrains, and representing both the beauty and strength of her dual subjects. Sometimes hazy and dreamy, other times stark in their clarity, each photograph serves as a window into the special places that exist just beyond the shadows.

Over the years, Kat has studied with photographers Joyce Tenneson, Doug Beasley, Elizabeth Opalenik, and Connie Imbodem and counts among her influences Clarence John Laughlin, Deborah Turbeville, Sarah Moon, and Duane Michals. She maintains studios in Omaha, Nebraska, and Snow Mass, Colorado but has photographed in locations throughout the United States and overseas. Her photographs have been widely exhibited over the past two decades, and her work is included in numerous corporate and private collections.

Degas’ Dream ©Kat Moser

Amalgamations

Amalgamation is the act of merging or uniting two or more elements, transmuting them into a single entity that reflects parts of each element, as well as a new whole. My Amalgamations series combines the female form with natural elements, using a unique process that allows both me and the viewer to experience the depth, texture, and color that results when two or more photos are layered.

I start with one of my existing photos of the female form –then layer it with another photo, often a landscape with some element of stone to provide a contrast with the softness of the female form. The second photo might be a wall from the small church I came across in the south of France, or rocky elements from the waters of a pool on the coast of Maine or a small pond outside of my hometown of Omaha. Melding them enhances both images, bringing them both to another level, and creating a new world that exists only in this new image.

Entrapment of Passion ©Kat Moser

Ethereal, mystical, spiritual—these are just some of the words I use to describe my work. All three represent the primal connections we have with Mother Earth and her female qualities. I am deeply moved by the powerful, yet often unseen worlds that surround and link us to life’s profound mysteries.

This is my creative challenge when making photographs, which lead me to focus my camera on the feminine form, quiet waters, and natural landscapes. Whether hazy and dreamy or stark and clear, each final print serves as a tangible reminder and potential window into these special places that exist just beyond the shadows.