by Hope Urban

Picking up the artistic gauntlet thrown down by forefathers like Joel-Peter Witkin and Odd Nerdrum, photographer Dean Karr's
nouveau noir aesthetics are quickly transforming the face of contemporary pop photography. Hope Urban joins the freakshow.

Known for his darkley arresting images which combine raw eroticism with elements of the grotesque and bizarre, thirtysomething
photographer Dean Karr is an artist who moves seamlessly between the worlds of fine art photography, commercial images, and
music video direction. Born in Seattle, Karr moved to Los Angeles to attend ArtCenter School of Design, but found himself lured
away from the academic world by the extraordinary and malformed characters he found in the city. Gaining their trust, he
passionately captured their uniqueness on film. His technique was highly original and shockingly beautiful, and the promise of
his early work led to Karr being asked to direct Marilyn Manson's "Sweet Dreams" video. The resulting piece was a shocker,
drawing immediate and broad attention, and it served to propel both Karr and Manson into the forefront of the visual rock world.
Karr has since lensed numerous videos for Dave Matthews, Ozzy Osborne, Cypress Hill, The Deftones, Dr Dre, Wyclef Jean,
and John Lennon (from the tribute album, featuring Cheap Trick), and has shot the recent album covers for Cypress Hill, Method
Man, Busta Rhymes, and Vanilla Ice.