Working Method

George Eastman Museum

In the studio, Carl Chiarenza works intuitively by following his instincts and seeing where they might lead him. Chiarenza discusses his daily routine with LensWork editor Brooks Jensen: I go into the studio and I do everything I can to avoid getting started—that’s part of the ritual, I have no control over it—I’ve just finally figured it out, that’s just what happens: I go in and I do all sorts of stuff—I turn the radio on, I make coffee, decide which music I’m going to listen to, answer the phone, check the email. I mean, it takes an hour for me to get settled in. And then I literally go to my table, which is just covered with stuff and I just at random pick something and start playing with pieces of paper to see if something comes together. More often than not, I keep throwing these things away and throwing things away and starting over and starting over and then I get something that I think is going to begin to work. Then I start by making an exposure, change the lights, change the configurations and keep doing that, making prints and laying them out on the table and watching them develop—develop in terms of what the picture is. I keep responding to what I am seeing and let that determine what I should do next. So the materials and the picture themselves tell me what to do. Source: LensWork Interview (2000)