RAiR | 1991-92

Karen Aqua

 Karen Aqua (1954-2011) grew up in Forty Fort, PA and received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. A gifted animator, Karen hand-drew all of the images in her films (“the old-fashioned way”). She married the musician Ken Field, and they collaborated extensively; he composed the music for many of her films, and they did a number of teaching residencies together; they returned to Roswell several times to teach in the schools. She also travelled with Ken’s singing group, the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, performing in a number of venues. 

          Her films are witty and energetic and deal with a number of themes, from prehistoric rock art to ritual and the human spirit to themes relating to the TV program Sesame Street. One of her most notable films was her next to last one, called Twist of Fate, which is “an abstract view on illness (cancer) visualized in an internal world inside the body, reflecting her battle with cancer.

          The Anderson Museum has five of Karen’s drawings on display and owns two of her films.