Mother, That Voice of Reason … that Persistent Voice.

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I hear voices. You guessed it, I am a little crazy. If you’ve spent anytime with me at all, inevitably my family comes up… usually in an anecdote of my Father in some awful Eastern European accent. But behind all that is The Consigliere, Mother.

Not only in my head do I have my Father barking at me, “You couldn’t take better photograph my son? She has man hands.” , but beside that is the advisor quipping… “What? Didn’t we just talk about this? You missed it and here’s why…” In class the other day we talked about anticipation. You have to wait for the moment, the shot between shots, but in order to do so, you must anticipate your subject. Sit, wait, anticipate. Quietly in the background, anticipating, the Consigliere observes it all. It’s no wonder I became an artist. Father’s flare for the dramatic mixed Mother’s keen eye and problem solving, a recipe for art in any studio. Observations, drama and problem solving.

An Italian through and through, the consigliere’s principals on life and art are very simple. Elegant in beauty. Logical by design. While we might not all have the Shakespearean drama that is my family chastising me in my head, or over the phone for that matter, there’s something to be said for the comfort of Mother and that charmingly persistent voice. That voice that says, keep going… make it work, you’re not moving back home so figure it out. The voice that anticipates greatness, meanwhile cherishes the journey along the way, and most importantly never misses a beat to say… Why do you always have them touching their face in your photographs?

A week out from Mother’s Day, we thought we’d get a head start to drive that message home, persistently with great anticipation…

Happy Mother’s Day!

Aleksandr Karjaka
Aleksandr Karjakahttp://karjaka.com
Aleksandr Karjaka came to New York for the music, but stayed for the visuals. As a classically trained musician, he’s had the honor of performing with some of the greatest musicians, and artistic houses, in the world. Often quoted as "Listening through his eyes." he's photographed the lives and stories of thousands of artists of all fields over the years. Here are their KARJAKA portraits.

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