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Hanging At
The Skinny:

James Carrano's
Fear & Uncertainty

Coming to you from The Skinny, a trendy little spot on the LES, Cityzen brings you the artwork that fills your nightlife.

New York based artist, James Carrano, was born 1971 in Brooklyn and raised in the suburbs of Long Island. After graduating with a BFA in 1993 from Syracuse University, he returned to NYC to pursue a life in art.

Participating in numerous gallery shows and exhibitions as well as collaborating with theatre and dance companies, James proves he is not afraid to search for alternative venues. Working in all types of medium from oil paint, to charcoal, to found object assemblages he is most recognized for his large scale photographs.

In his photographs James Carrano never lets you forget his appreciation for the rich history of painting. With his idols of the Renaissance and artists of the 50’s and 60’s not far behind, he transforms photographs into textured canvas all his own. His decision to produce larger than life photographs only enhances these complex compositions of saturated color, light, and form.

* Note. The process in which James Carrano produces these photographs is also known as “painting with a flashlight”. Each photo is taken in a completely dark room and the camera’s shutter is left open for 8-12 minutes. The only light source on the subject matter comes from a flashlight. There is no computer manipulation or double exposed film. Each photograph is from one single shot on one negative.

Artist Statement

“ It’s mid-afternoon and I’m preparing to go to my studio to start some pieces I’ve been thinking about. Wait. Let me first take care of...”

“ It’s early evening and right after I eat I’ll get some work done.”

“ O.K., it’s 11 o’clock, let me just watch some Seinfeild and then I’ll get a good couple of hours in; I work better at night anyway.”

“ I know I haven’t worked in awhile but I really should …get these bills done …work on the house … spend some time with my girlfriend … play with my dog …what’s on t.v.?”

“ Don’t worry, this time being wasted doesn’t really matter, the work will always be there.”

“ Oh man, I’ve been laying on this couch since when? How long can this routine possibly go on?”
I wish I could accept the easy answer and just consider these as excuses but the truth is there is something more to it than that. There must be another explanation to why I allow myself to be distracted so easily.

This work is a drastic departure from my earlier theatrical photographs. These black and white photos concentrate on the simple images that have affected, developed and in some ways haunted my thoughts ever since I decided to study art. Simply put, the objects chosen have played a part in my day to day life, and have now become symbols of that which I have feared to address for all these years.

More important than the images themselves, and what makes them so personal, is why I have decided to photograph them now. Which brings me to the title of this series “Fear and Uncertainty”.
These pictures try to investigate both the fear and uncertainty that I go through when deciding what to make, or until this point, what not to make. I realize this is certainly not a new concept. There has been numerous books publish on the psychology of what drives “artists” to work, what they are trying to accomplish and what might be the reasons they eventually stop working.

I guess you can say that this series of photographs has gotten the “monkey off my back”. They speak about all the judgment I put on my own work; normally used as excuses to avoid producing anything.