My desire to be a visual artist is rooted in my fascination with individual perception. We form our identity based on this often faulty data.

Photography has always interested me because of its link to this individual perception. It gives the illusion that it is impartially recording visual truth but it always records a momentary point of view.

I am currently using photography as my primary medium. The camera acts as my sanctuary. It defines an intimate space where revelation is possible. The camera allows me to concentrate my attention using the familiar rituals of focusing my lens, cropping my visual experience, interacting with both the solid forms and the ephemeral light. These rituals intensify my spiritual connections with this concrete world. The objects become images. The images create connections. The connections foster understanding.

“I believe there are things which nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them. ~Diane Arbus

1969-1971 Studies School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL
1969 MFA University of Illinois, Champaign
1967 Graduate Studies Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
1966 BFA State University of New York at Buffalo

Marie Cenkner is a visual artist currently living in Los Angeles. She was awarded a Regents Scholarship and earned a BFA at the State University of New York at Buffalo. After pursuing initial graduate studies at the University of Illinois, Carbondale, she transferred to the University of Illinois, Campaign and earned an MFA as a Creative and Performing Arts Fellow. She also studied ceramic sculpture at the Chicago Art Institute.

While teaching college in Chicago, Cenkner was introduced to film animation and was immediately hooked on this time-based art form. She spent the next 25 years working in all aspects of animation, taking full advantage of her training in sculpture, painting, printmaking and photography.

Cenkner has been a member of the Southern California Women’s Caucus for Art for nine years and served on the exhibitions committee. She is also a member of the Eco-Art Collective. Cenkner has participated on animation juries for The Chicago International Film Festival, Facets Chicago International Children’s Film Festival and SIGGRAPH. She has conducted workshop lectures at Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Columbia College, Chicago and Oxbow Art Colony. She has exhibited her artwork nationally, mainly in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

Cenkner is currently focusing her talents exclusively in fine arts. She uses the camera to record her highly personal interactions with her ever-changing perception of reality.