Max Karst was born in Seattle,Washington in 1948. In 1967 he saw Antonioni’s film Blowup and almost immediately acquired a Pentax Spotmatic camera. He studied design at Seattle’s Burnley School of Professional Art and was soon working as an art director at N. W. Ayer / F. E. Baker on the Boeing account introducing the new 747. He quit there to open a freelance graphic design and illustration office for a couple of years before packing up the Pentax in a military surplus bag for a six month sabbatical to South America with his girlfriend traveling companion. Back in Seattle in 1974, Max took up custom jewelry design and followed that track for about 12 years, moving operations to Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Hollywood and then back to Seattle in 1980. He leased a space in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square and eventually transitioned to property development as a lease-hold developer. He learned to fly sailplanes and is an accomplished glider pilot. In 2010 he went to Africa for the first of many trips, engaging in pursuit of various development projects, eventually registering as a US lobbyist for Felix Tshisekedi in his successful 2019 election to the presidency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the first peaceful transition of power in the country’s history. Max is currently assembling a collection of his Africa photos for future exhibition.
