Faces of MS
“A Reason for Everything” – A Profile of Dina Kawer
By Roy Sexton
Some people rush through every day, too busy or too self-important to notice the wonderful details in every waking moment. Then there are others, like Dina Kawer, who sees the magic in the mundane.
“I’m a photographer…I’ve always had a camera in my hand since I was a child,” declares Dina Kawer. “It’s all about paying attention. I photograph the things that most people pass by and never notice. I primarily do still-life and architectural facades. I shoot buildings and objects that people pass by every day but never really see. I like to capture these things so that there’s always a tangible reminder that they existed.”
Despite having lived with MS for 32 years, Kawer is quick to note that this disease does not define her. One could also argue, however, that MS has gifted her with a heightened sensitivity, with an artistic awareness of the value of the overlooked. “We all speak a particular language and we find our unique voice through our own unique expression,” she observes. “We all have a voice and we portray it through our passion. I rarely photograph people. For me, architecture, the way a building is designed, the objects we own, speak more to who a person really is.”
In fact, Kawer’s MS may have led her to pioneer a unique, now imitated, photographic technique called Polaroid transfer. In this technique, the image from a Polaroid negative is transferred to another surface, in her case, handmade, Japanese paper. The result is a more painterly, softer, less photographic image. Kawer explains, “One of my presenting symptoms was optic neuritis. I focus with my left eye. When I was in college, before I knew I had any visual disturbance, a professor noted that he was bothered that my work was always ever so slightly out of focus. I didn’t believe him because I couldn’t see it. It was a slight nuance.”
Kawer continues, “About four years after graduating, I stumbled upon and began experimenting with Polaroid transfer – there were only two other artists using this, as of yet, unnamed technique. I wasn’t trying to fool anyone about the focus issue my professor identified – but this process conveyed the exact feeling that I wanted for my images…that reflected how I was seeing the world through my eyes and my heart.”
Kawer is clearly proud of her artistic accomplishments, but she’s even prouder of her parental ones. “I have two wonderful kids. They grew up with a mom with MS, but in that way they learned early lessons of compassion and kindness. With their peers, they always reached out to help. They became very independent at a very early age. When I would fall, we would simply sit on the floor and they would bring their games and books over to me and we would play and read until I could stand up again.”
Kawer’s son, Shay Goldenberg, is a producer at an animation studio in San Diego, creating video game cinematics, short films, and commercials. Her daughter, Shanna Goldenberg, works in Nevada as a program director for Teach for America. “My kids are always helping and always mentoring,” she notes.
“One of my favorite quotes is from the actress Ruth Gordon: ‘How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?’” laughs Kawer. This irreverent yet boundless perspective clearly motivates Kawer every day. “I’m of the mindset that nothing is going to stop me. I’m going to accomplish what I want to accomplish. I will keep going until I can’t go anymore. I’m a believer that there is a reason for everything. For instance, though I’ve always recognized the importance of paying attention to the world, maybe MS punctuated the fact that I was meant to slow down further; take my time and not rush. I truly believe that is a lesson for all of us. It is always about paying attention and really listening. It’s never been, ‘Why me?’ It’s always been ‘Why not me?’ - which brings her to another quote, by the photographer, Minor White: “Be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence.”
Kawer’s love of her children coupled with her “why not” attitude led her to accomplish a lifelong dream in the summer of 2008. Alongside her daughter and several other family members, Kawer climbed Mt. Masada, in Israel, in blistering desert heat. The climb, for which Kawer raised $11,800 for MS research, is documented on her website (designed by her son) http://www.howwilligetbackdown.com/.
“It was a promise I made to myself. My daughter had climbed this mountain at age 16 on a teen mission – and she called me to tell me all about it. On that trip, she had volunteered to carry the group’s 30 pound water pack and she became very ill. She carried the pack because she wanted to carry me symbolically on her back,” Kawer explains. “The next year we found out she had a heart condition – she had gone into a potentially life-threatening arrhythmia during her climb. That made me even more determined. I made a promise to myself that I would one day do this with her. I was going to find a way to get to Israel and I was going to do this climb; to carry myself and unburden my daughter.”
Kawer’s determination is an inspiration…but even more inspiring is her humanity: “You don’t want people to define you by the illness. We as human beings don’t want to be defined by circumstance – we just want to be seen for whom we are. When you have a visible handicap, it adds one more component to that. My priority became to live as independently as I always had. It is so important for people to see us, not the trappings of a disease.”
She concludes, “My life, my art is an expression of that…my photography is about more than just paying attention. It’s about not taking anything for granted. It’s crucial to never lose sight of what is important. It is a way to capture that forever and bring everything home; to heart. And, when I hold a camera, I am home.”