At the age 12, Tamar Karavan found a camera in her father’s belongings. The encounter would turn out to be life-changing.
Tamar brought the camera with her everywhere. When the family traveled for her father’s work – the artist Dani Karavan – she would seize the opportunity and take portraits of the artists she met on their journeys together.
Today, Tamar Karavan is one of Israel’s leading photographers. She is also a mother, an artist, children’s art therapist, and a fashion personality. We talked to Tamar about her past and ongoing projects, her love for fashion, and the vibrant inner life which inspires her creations.
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DNA of art, fashion, and creativity
Tamar's father introduced her to the world of art. Thanks to his work, she was able to travel the world and find inspiration in the art and fashion of different cultures.
“I had a very big interest in fashion. When I was 9, we moved to Italy, and I remember I was discovering things I was not exposed to in Israel. I already had my own taste in fashion before, but I remember seeing leather boots and I drove my parents crazy to buy them for me. My mother and grandmother had great style and made gorgeous clothes for themselves so fashion is in my DNA but abroad I got a lot of inspiration and an understanding of what can be done with fashion. “
Tamar would go on to study at Bezalel Academy of arts, one of Israel’s leading art schools. After graduating, she took a job as an art director but soon found that something was missing. She recalls a conversation with her father, who asked what excites her, and she replied ‘fashion and photography’.
“To me, fashion is a joy of life. My belief is ‘there isn’t a right or wrong’. You need to dress for yourself, not for a guy or others. It’s creatively happy, colorful, and fun. A kind of therapy for the mind.”
With her father’s encouragement, Tamar turned to a well-known newspaper where she was given the opportunity to make her first fashion production. She did everything from photography and styling to writing and producing, and from there, the love of photography and fashion combined into what Tamer does today.
Works of music, fashion, art, and psychology
Today, Tamar works across a variety of fields – from music to fashion and psychology.
She directs and creates music videos for highly recognized Israeli singers, such as Ninet, Efrat Gosh, and Sivan Talmor.
“Efrat met me at Zara and I told her I wanted to photograph her for all sorts of things, and we had a great connection. Then she released this album, and asked me to be the art director of this project. We worked very well together.”
“I loved directing this video because it shows a world that is utopic: 4 girlfriends, together, happy and beautiful.”
Her Instagram account provides a glimpse into her life and her unique style. Here she shares her day-to-day life with her 30,000 followers through snaps of recent projects, landscape photos, artworks, and fashion.
“I like Instagram because I feel like I am able to clear all the noises around me. I don’t care what people think or if they like what I do. It's like my personal diary, I'm trying to put my personal world in there.”
״My style is about not being afraid of what's right and what's not. You know, getting dressed is not a matter of life and death. You get dressed and then, you can take off your clothes. You can think today that something is beautiful and tomorrow that it is ugly. That’s why I’m “brave” in fashion because I'm not afraid of any combination.”
Her most recent fashion project was a photoshoot for a scarf designer, Dikla Levsky.
“I’m happy with the results of this project. Her scarves are very colorful and have strong prints. I'm good at combining prints but when I did the styling I realized I couldn’t use prints at all. I had to do a styling that would highlight the products and I loved figuring how to do it best.”
Tamar's works are influenced by her experiences as a woman and as a human. Equipped with her camera, an open mind, courage, and zero desire to please her surroundings, she transforms her thoughts and feelings into exciting and thought-provoking images that are honest and personal.
“I did a series called “The Tear Drop” about how despite the difficulties we experience as women – we still get up in the morning, apply lipstick and leave the house, even with a little tear running down our face.
Later, I made a series named “Open Hearts”, where I talked about the paradox and dichotomy between the fact that you really want people to know who you really are, know your soul, and for that, you have to pay a “price” and have your heart wide open. Most people are terribly afraid of getting hurt, so they close their hearts. I am a person with a very open heart, and I also know how it feels when hurt strikes you as a consequence.
My third project was called “The Trust”. It was at a time when I felt I had reached my safe place, and I wanted to explore trusting, both with myself and the person I was with.”
Tamar’s psychological depth also comes to life outside of photography. She studied psychology and is now using art to do therapy work with children.
“Psychology helped me to discover a lot of things about myself. It started at a time when I felt that the fashion world was getting too superficial for me and that I was missing something deeper and more meaningful in life. Every time kids come here it's like a heart and soul massage. The fact that I can help children and the connection I have with them is priceless.”
Room for love and connection
Tamar’s latest solo exhibition “Room of my own” (May 2019) was a big success that attracted many visitors from all over Israel. To Tamar, this intimate project is deeply feminist and holds a special place in her heart and she says that it is her most significant exhibition so far.
״”Room of my own” is about the desire for love and connection. The desire to both love yourself and find your own sacred place, which is only yours, where you can feel safe and not be scared It is also something that is very common to women, to be torn between these two worlds – Loving yourself and loving others. Women tend to put themselves last on the list”
“The exhibition was about having a room that has my inner world in it. It has everything I love and what makes me happy, whether it's food, love, compassion. It’s basically about how each of us should take care of ourselves, not wait for a man to come and save us, or rely on someone other than ourselves. ״Room of my own״ means to me: my own loving, empathic, safe place.”
Visual biography on feminism, personal growth, and the inner workings of the heart
Tamar thinks it is possible to be a feminist without saying you're one. In her eyes, feminism is less about to do with men than it is about women.
“In my eyes, real feminism is that women need to be kind to other women. When women will be truly there for each other” – empathic, supporting, kind, and empowering to one another – the world becomes a better place and huge social changes can be achieved.”
“I think my perception of femininity can be seen in my photos. When I first started out, I photographed a young woman named Theodora for two years. She was small, thin, and androgynous, like me at the time. I was very tomboyish until my son was born but during pregnancy, I gained weight and my view on femininity changed. Nowadays I want to photograph fuller, more mature women. I think the women I photograph are a reflection of where I am in my life, whether it is fashion or art.”
Like a visual biography, every single work in Tamar’s portfolio narrates the events of her inner, emotional life. This includes the new normal brought about by the COVID-19. Days of staying at home and social distancing has given Tamar food for thought.
“I think the biggest lesson in these times is that we have taken everything in life for granted. Our health, our freedom, our loves, everything seemed obvious. All over the world, people lost themselves to wanting more and not standing still for a moment to see what they have and how to be grateful for the very small thing life is offering you every day”
“With the lockdowns, I felt that on one hand, all human beings are connected together, and on the other hand, it created enormous loneliness. It made me realize that I had an opportunity at these times to change a lot of things I wouldn’t otherwise have looked into myself and changed otherwise. I did and still am doing a lot of inner work with myself and perhaps one day it will be part of a new creation I'll make. But for the time being my main goal is to learn how to be kind to myself and to others.”
