- Mystical Transformations
A Review by Dave
Howard
- from a portfolio and article in Camera Arts Magazine.
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It's always such a pleasant
surprise to discover a body of work such as Ray Carofano's Mystical
Transformations. In a world all too full of "been there, done that"
imagery, Carofano stands out. A quick shuffle through this body of work
establishes its coherence--you sense that you'll be spending a lot of time
with them.
Masterfully printed with both craft and passion, the
black-and-white studies presented here are of seared desert and scorched
vegetation, gnarled, dark tree trunks and roots. The compositions are an
intriguing amalgam of sharp underlying definition, swirling veils of
diffusion, and pools of inky blackness that permit identification without
lending familiarity.
For Ray Carofano, everything is a new
beginning, just a phase in an endless cycle of renewal. This upbeat world
view manifests itself in his work. While many photographers of the
landscape spend an increasing amount of time avoiding any evidence of
human presence in their pictures, Carofano uses the works of modern
civilization to his advantage. A desert series featuring high tension
towers renders the counterpoint between the angular immensity of these
utilitarian sculptures and the undulating sand forms, billowing cloud
formations, and stark, brittle flora.
Unlike many fine-art
photographers, Ray Carofano didn't accidentally stumble into photography
while pursuing some other unrelated career. He knew early on where his
passions lay, and charted his course accordingly. He got his first camera
when he was 12, but not until his early twenties did he recognize the
serious potential of photography as a means of expression. At the Paier
School of Art in New Haven, Connecticut, his association with artists of
many disciplines began to foster an artistic awareness. Weekend trips to
museums in New York brought exposure to outstanding photography and proved
to be the catalyst needed to ignite Carofano's life passion.
Basically self-taught, Carofano had to squeeze his image making
into evenings and weekends, with late night darkroom sessions, while
supporting himself as an auto and motorcycle mechanic and as a
construction worker during the summer. It wasn't until age 30 or so that
Carofano met a commercial photographer and discovered that he could
actually make money doing photography. Since he had married and started a
family by that time, this revelation provided the means for meeting
financial obligations, while continuing the art that was so important to
him.
With the increasing prosperity of his commercial photography
business, time for the fine-art work steadily dwindled. The rekindling of
the flame came about after remarrying in 1994. His new wife, Arnee,
enthusiastically supportive of his fine-art passion, strongly urged him to
follow his dream. Thus encouraged, Carofano launched himself headlong into
an intense effort to get his art photography back on track. Today, he can
foresee a time, perhaps three to five years from now, when he can devote
himself entirely to his personal creative images, leaving the commercial
work to his long-time associate Brian Hamblin.
The "bread-and butter" commercial photography and fine-art work are completely separate entities to Carofano. He feels that the problem-solving nature of commercial assignments is a product of his mind, while the fine art vision comes from within, a product of the heart. Further, while the commercial work is mostly color, his fine art is solely black and white. He does studio work in large format (4x5 and 8x10), and uses medium format and smaller cameras for his fine art. He maintains that the maneuverability of the smaller formats lends his compositions a greater sense of immediacy. Carofano states that some photographers have trouble shifting mental gears between assignment photography and personal work, but that it's no problem for him. "I can have someone call and cancel a shoot," he says, "and immediately I'm in my darkroom in 10 minutes, setting up to print."
Carofano doesn't do a lot of experimenting with materials for his fine-art work, preferring to stick with ingredients he's familiar with. For the past several years he has used Kodak T-Max 100 film, and Ilford Multigrade Fiberbase for his principal paper. He favors Multigrade for its receptiveness to toning, as split-toning is a standard procedure for him. Dektol is his usual paper developer of choice. Hardware includes an Aristo variable-contrast cold light head, atop a 4x5 Beseler enlarger.
Addressing darkroom technique for his Mystical Transformations, Carofano says that he over-develops his negatives slightly, because he prefers the resulting elevated contrast. The bleeding blacks that are a signature trait of his images are obtained during projection via the introduction of various diffusion- and flare-inducing materials, often cut to a special size or shape, which lower the print contrast. The effect is applied selectively to different areas of the print, giving them greater complexity and a much stronger visual holding-power than if the entire print were uniformly treated. Despite the intricate printing technique involved, Carofano doesn't make a copy neg of a final, "perfect" print, preferring that each reprint be an original in its own right. he makes extensive notes, sometimes including tape recordings, to establish a "blueprint" for future prints. His Metrolux timer, with its nine program channels, contributes significantly to repeatability from print to print.
Carofano regards these printing manipulations as extensions of how he felt about the scene at the moment of exposure. He feels that this "mysterious" element of his vision goes back to his childhood in Connecticut, where, as an only child, he spent a lot of time in the woods and by the rivers. He would construct huts and tree houses, secretive places he could escape to and let his imagination run free, while in the process developing a life-long sensitivity and feeling for the land. Today, when traveling through a rural wooded area, Carofano still experiences these same feelings. Currently residing in the Los Angeles area, he surmises, "That may be one of the reasons I've chosen to live in the city, to keep myself away from it, so that I'm not so saturated by it all the time; so that when I go back to an area like that, it becomes a sacred ground to me."
Emotional expression, not social statement, is the cornerstone of Carofano's fine-art photography. He doesn't embark on a picture-taking trip with preconceived ideas of what he's seeking. The urge to head out with his camera is frequently preceded by dreams. "A thing that happens to me, living in a city like this, is that after a time I start thinking about the landscape, about going out into the woods, and then I actually start dreaming. Then eventually, when I get out there, it's incredible; it's a meditative state for me. I love to be alone out there when I do it; I don't know how to describe it, but there's a connection that i make, a deep feeling that comes from inside of me, with what's in front of the camera." He doesn't often return to the same areas; he says the conditions and emotions are seldom as magical as the first encounter. Indeed, the shots he likes best are often the first few frames on a roll.
When asked if he could foresee digital technology replacing his darkroom manipulations, Carofano responds, I won't close my mind to it, I'm open to it, but I haven't tried any of it yet; not that I won't in the future. What I do works for me right now. I've always loved the darkroom end of it, even as a kid, and I still get excited to see that print come up in the developer... I don't have any immediate plans to get involved in it, but who knows where I'll be two or three years from now. I do have a Mac up in the office, but it's just for office work, not manipulation, though it does have an old version of Photoshop on it. But it would be time consuming. I see that as buying a musical instrument. You can buy a Macintosh, with all the power you need and Photoshop, the same way you can a saxophone. But learning to get a good sound out of the saxophone, or learning to get results on the computer obviously is going to take a time and learning commitment. At this time in my life I'm extremely busy, either behind the camera or in the darkroom, so I'd have to make a sacrifice to do so. But again, who knows where I'll be in a few years; I may be behind a computer."
Photographing for more than thirty years, Carofano's fine art is in the permanent collections of several institutions, including private and corporate collections nationwide. He is represented by galleries in Dallas, Chicago, Tulsa, and Portland, Oregon. Exhibition schedules and print sales information can be obtained by calling his studio at (310) 732-2150, or by visiting his web site at www.carofano.com.
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