Emy Kat
Encyclopedia
Emy Kat is an American
photographer working in the fields of fashion
, advertising
, and Fine art photography
.
, portraits, commercial advertising
and is now mostly concentrating on fine art
.
He graduated in 1997 from the Brooks Institute of photography Santa Barbara, California
, (USA) where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Illustration and digital imaging
with exceptional academic achievements and honors along with awards in Advertising and Creative Excellence.
Kat's work is full of contrasts and extremes. It's either subtle and subdued or loud and ecstatic. His passion lies in capturing and recording motion in an image. His style in capturing motion in his work reflects life itself and varies from total motion freeze to motion blur or their combination. He uses mainly ambient light or mixes it with flash
/ strobe light
. It is similar to light painting
except it is done with strobes / flash.
His portraiture and fine art work include notable and intriguing people such as:The entrepreneur, founder of the Hard Rock Cafe in London and the House of Blues in Los Angeles Isaac Tigrett
; model/actress/philanthropist Shannon Elizabeth
; and model/philanthropist Petra Němcová
.
His work (Nude studies on Platinum - Etudes Nu femme), describing the superiority of the woman in her creation, is a permanent collection and is archived by the BNF Bibliothèque nationale de France
(2000). The collection is under Reference number Ep-4001-Boîte pet. fol.(Collection Publiques).
in 1997, Emy Kat chose to work and mostly use photographic film
. This is due to limitations of digital photography
. In 2008, he started using a high end digital camera back
system by LEAF for commercial assignments. For most of his fine art work, Kat continues to use photographic film with large format
view camera
and medium format (film) camera.
, Russian Vogue
and Elle Decor. He was also featured in advertorials for brand names such Missoni
in 1997.
Featured in a special issue April 2010 of The Photo Paper by World Photographic Art as one of the world's leading photographers "Int'l Best Photographer Index 2010" selected by a distinguished panel of jury such as Christie's
, Tate
, Taschen
, and Vogue (magazine)
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer working in the fields of fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
, advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, and Fine art photography
Fine art photography
Fine art photography refers to photographs that are created in accordance with the creative vision of the photographer as artist. Fine art photography stands in contrast to photojournalism, which provides a visual account for news events, and commercial photography, the primary focus of which is to...
.
Career and life
Emy Kat was born in 1959. He is a US citizen with a Middle Eastern descent. He started photography when his father gave him his first camera at age 12. His father was a dedicated and talented amateur in photography and was the first person to influence and encourage him. Kat began his career in fashion photographyFashion photography
Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, or Elle...
, portraits, commercial advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
and is now mostly concentrating on fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
.
He graduated in 1997 from the Brooks Institute of photography Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, (USA) where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Illustration and digital imaging
Digital imaging
Digital imaging or digital image acquisition is the creation of digital images, typically from a physical scene. The term is often assumed to imply or include the processing, compression, storage, printing, and display of such images...
with exceptional academic achievements and honors along with awards in Advertising and Creative Excellence.
Kat's work is full of contrasts and extremes. It's either subtle and subdued or loud and ecstatic. His passion lies in capturing and recording motion in an image. His style in capturing motion in his work reflects life itself and varies from total motion freeze to motion blur or their combination. He uses mainly ambient light or mixes it with flash
Flash
-Book:* Flash fiction, fiction of extreme brevity* The Flash , ongoing comic book featuring the titular DC Comics hero* Flash , a 2004 science fiction novel by L. E...
/ strobe light
Strobe light
A strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope...
. It is similar to light painting
Light Painting
Light painting, also known as light drawing or light graffiti is a photographic technique in which exposures are made usually at night or in a darkened room by moving a hand-held light source or by moving the camera. In many cases the light source itself does not have to appear in the image...
except it is done with strobes / flash.
His portraiture and fine art work include notable and intriguing people such as:The entrepreneur, founder of the Hard Rock Cafe in London and the House of Blues in Los Angeles Isaac Tigrett
Isaac Tigrett
Isaac Tigrett of Jackson, Tennessee is a businessman best known as founder of Hard Rock Café and House of Blues.Tigrett belonged to a well-to-do business family. He was raised in Tennessee until the age of fifteen...
; model/actress/philanthropist Shannon Elizabeth
Shannon Elizabeth
Shannon Elizabeth is an American actress and former fashion model. Elizabeth is well known for her roles in comedy films such as Scary Movie, American Pie, and Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back. She is also well known for her work in horror films such as Thirteen Ghosts, Cursed, and Night of the Demons...
; and model/philanthropist Petra Němcová
Petra Nemcová
Petra Němcová is a Czech model, television host, author, and philanthropist. She is the founder and chair of the Happy Hearts Fund. In December 2004, she was injured in Thailand by a tsunami resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake; her fiancé, photographer Simon Atlee, was killed in the...
.
His work (Nude studies on Platinum - Etudes Nu femme), describing the superiority of the woman in her creation, is a permanent collection and is archived by the BNF Bibliothèque nationale de France
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
(2000). The collection is under Reference number Ep-4001-Boîte pet. fol.(Collection Publiques).
Film vs digital
Although he majored in digital imagingDigital imaging
Digital imaging or digital image acquisition is the creation of digital images, typically from a physical scene. The term is often assumed to imply or include the processing, compression, storage, printing, and display of such images...
in 1997, Emy Kat chose to work and mostly use photographic film
Photographic film
Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and resolution of the film...
. This is due to limitations of digital photography
Digital photography
Digital photography is a form of photography that uses an array of light sensitive sensors to capture the image focused by the lens, as opposed to an exposure on light sensitive film...
. In 2008, he started using a high end digital camera back
Digital camera back
A digital camera back is a device that attaches to the back of a camera in place of a film holder and contains an electronic image sensor. This lets cameras that were designed to use film take digital photographs...
system by LEAF for commercial assignments. For most of his fine art work, Kat continues to use photographic film with large format
Large format
Large format refers to any imaging format of 4×5 inches or larger. Large format is larger than "medium format", the 6×6 cm or 6×9 cm size of Hasselblad, Rollei, Kowa, Pentax etc cameras , and much larger than the 24×36 mm frame of 35 mm format.The main advantage...
view camera
View camera
The view camera is a type of camera first developed in the era of the Daguerreotype and still in use today, though with many refinements. It comprises a flexible bellows which forms a light-tight seal between two adjustable standards, one of which holds a lens, and the other a viewfinder or a...
and medium format (film) camera.
Notable artwork
- Nude studies of women on platinum (Etudes Nus femme) Archived and collected by the BNF Bibliothèque nationale de FranceBibliothèque nationale de FranceThe is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
(2000). Reference number Ep-4001-Boîte pet. fol.(Collection Publiques) - La Pass Murraille - series of 5 images - edition 3 - (1999)
- Erotic Lamp I - series of 3 images (triptychs) - edition 6 - (2008)
- Erotic Lamp II - series of 4 images (quadtychs) - edition 6 - (2008)
- Souls on the streets (Ames Dans les Rues) - (2009) Permanent collection at Opera GalleryOpera galleryOpera Gallery is a leading network of 11 contemporary art gallery world-wide that first opened in 1994 by founder Gilles Dyan.Today, Opera Gallery is present in most of the world's major art capitals: Paris , Singapore , New York , Miami , Hong Kong , London , Venice , Seoul , Dubai , and Monaco...
Book contributions
Kat's photographs have been included in several books published by Graphis Inc..- (2007) "Photography Annual" ISBN 1-932026-39-8
- (2006) "Photography Annual" ISBN 1-931241-46-5
- (2000) "Nude 3" ISBN 1-888001-66-6
- (1998) "Photography Annual" ISBN 1-888001-46-1
- (1997) Annual Design ISBN 1-888001-24-0
Magazines
Emy Kat's work is published in various magazines including Harper's BazaarHarper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, Russian Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
and Elle Decor. He was also featured in advertorials for brand names such Missoni
Missoni
Missoni is an Italian fashion house based in Varese. It is famous for its unique knitwear, made from a variety of fabrics in colourful patterns. The company was founded by Ottavio and Rosita Missoni in 1953.-Brands:...
in 1997.
Featured in a special issue April 2010 of The Photo Paper by World Photographic Art as one of the world's leading photographers "Int'l Best Photographer Index 2010" selected by a distinguished panel of jury such as Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
, Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
, Taschen
Taschen
Taschen is an art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. It began as Taschen Comics publishing Benedikt's extensive comic collection...
, and Vogue (magazine)
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
.