Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris D’Amore.
Chris, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Ever since my first Lego set I have been a creator, but a high school course in film photography was where things really took on a life of their own. Since then, photography has been a constant – not just as a tool of self-expression, but a way in which I have been able to approach new experiences and gain new perspectives on what would alternatively be considered mundane. Like most photographers, I got swept up in the digital photography boom of the 2000s, but I never quite found a voice in that medium as it quickly became more of a competition to amass the latest and greatest gear. Halfway through college, my grandparents gave me a medium format film camera that they bought around the time my father was born, and that was what rekindled my infatuation with analog photography. Over the past decade or so, I have collected quite a few antique cameras that have become my main tools in creating an ever-growing archive on film. From the boxes upon boxes of negatives, I have been able to piece together concepts for zines and galleries, and (at the risk of getting sentimental) it is a living document of my life and all of the wonderful people and places within it.
In the winding path that is the human experience, some other passions have sprung up for which photography alone could not scratch the creative itch such as music, creative writing, and illustration. These have all played a role in my work, usually with some overlap. For instance, I have been able to design album covers for some of the bands I have played in as well as photograph some of the bands that I look up to the most.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
In my early twenties and even after college, I was still somewhat of an introvert, so photographing people (especially strangers) still had me feeling very vulnerable. Sometimes a simple polite inquiry can really get someone to open up and present their true self. Every one of those experiences can provide incremental growth both creatively and personally.
Aside from that, self-doubt is something with which I think every artist struggles, especially when your work ventures beyond what has already been done by others. Not to say that I’m pushing any major boundaries, but when one publishes a set of photographs of discarded Christmas trees along with the lyrics for ‘Oh, Tannenbaum,’ one has to wonder if anyone else actually thinks it’s funny.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Chris D’Amore Photography / The Clack – what should we know?
As someone that likes to delve into many mediums, it was tough to limit it all to one entity. For now, I have separated things into two camps: my analog photography work (www.cdamorephotography.com) and a multimedia blog featuring writing excerpts and digital illustrations that I use as an outlet for my terribly dry sense of humor (www.itstheclack.com). Although photography presents the bulk of my work with which people are most familiar, there is a lot of overlap between the two. Possibly the most recognizable creation so far is a set of ‘Greetings from Cambridge & Somerville’ postcard sets juxtaposing the cheery sentiment with the more grotesque, overlooked scenes from the neighborhood. I think the people that are proud to be from Camberville realize that those images are just as much a reflection of life here as what a city brochure would show you.
I would say I’m most proud of how consistent my output has been over the years. The thing that only time could teach me was how to take advantage of creative lulls to carry out the less exciting work necessary to turn an existing idea into a real, physical thing.
Working with film has certainly put me in a different category of photography for better or for worse, but this has also conveniently taken me out of the running for commercial-grade work that wouldn’t interest me anyway. The storytelling aspect of which photography is capable interests me the most. Just last month I worked on a photo-documentary project called “What Goes On Back There?” a super fun collaboration with Practice Space Design Studio. With the help of the City of Cambridge’s Small Business Challenge grant, we set out to document the backstories of 13 different Inman Square businesses. We ended up printing 24 images for an exhibition that was later entered into the City of Cambridge archives.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Oh, so many… Few have provided as much encouragement and support as my partner, Emily Briand, who is an inspiration in her own right. Friends and family are a close second in giving me the courage to try new things and break out of my shell. If I didn’t have friends to coax me into playing in their bands early on, I may never have overcome my intense stage fright. That in itself enabled me to branch out successfully into other endeavors.
Two of the main arts communities I have immersed myself in are New Hampshire’s Seacoast area and Boston. Without the amazing people I have met and worked with in both, New England would be a pretty but boring place to be. We all have those regions to thank for churning out some incredible works of art & music, as well as the establishments that incubate that creativity.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cdamorephotography.com and www.itstheclack.com
- Instagram: @chris.damore and @itstheclack
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