After Sept. 11, J.M. Giordano picked up his camera.
In the evening hours, he aimed his manual Minolta camera, an old "clunker," at Baltimore's popular gathering spots, historical landmarks and local businesses. But the photographer, who had recently returned to his hometown after four years abroad, didn't recognize the well-known places in the prints.
The images captured by his lens were ominous and foreboding. They were dark, never mind the fact that they were taken at night. Spurred on by his discovery, Giordano set out to reflect the visual ways that the post-9/11 sentiment had affected the city.
Nighttime photography, he said, was a good place to start.
"I couldn't in good conscience take happy night shots again," he said of his series, American Darkness: Baltimore, which opens at the Baltimoregallery tomorrow.
An ice cream shop, a drugstore and other "places that people feel safe" were cast in shady, gray tones.
But the black-and-white photographs aren't set up to seem scary or spooky, Giordano said. No staging was used; he simply observed the lives and surroundings of city dwellers, capturing stills when moved to do so. To get an authentic tone without artistic interference, Giordano employed a low-impact photographic technique.
High-performance 3200 speed film allowed him to shoot without a flash. This unobtrusive mode of work gave him the freedom to take pictures quickly and quietly. Many of the pictures in the series were shot through windows as he walked the streets after dusk, Giordano said. The resultant prints are stark and gritty; yet they seem calm, quietly gauging moods through shadowy images.
Susan Gould, executive director of the Baltimoregallery, said the dualities present in Giordano's work make his photographs stand out from other local artists.
"They're dark, but not gloomy; intimate, but removed. I was really struck instantly by how different they were." she said.
Giordano listed another reason that his work stands out: The photographs are never edited or embellished with computerized special effects.
"When an image is manipulated digitally, you call into question the integrity of the photograph," he said.
"Photoshopping" the image is commonplace in today's art world, a practice that leaves little room for honest photography like his, he added. The trend toward art photography doesn't bother Giordano, who doesn't attach that label to his work anyway.
"Once a third element [the first two being the subject and the photographer] comes into the picture, it becomes art," His work, he said, is "just simply photography with a point."
"I try to keep it as pure as possible."
Giordano's show runs through Aug. 15. An opening reception will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow.
The Baltimoregallery is at 4519 Eastern Ave. Call 410-276-7966 for summer hours or to make an appointment.
For more art events, see Page 43.
