José Crespo came for a tour of The Cotton Factory studios in January, 2020 when he was looking for a space to operate Crespo MediaWERKS, Inc., a successful commercial construction company with a focus on kitchen and interior design. However, since settling into his new studio, and with the onset of a pandemic, he has found himself revisiting his passion for photography, a career he nearly abandoned during the 2008 recession.
“When the universe tells you something, you have to listen.” says Crespo. He spends most of his time in his studio where he has jumped back into photography with full force.
José Crespo, Self-portrait
In a time when the world has slowed and is either hiding or healing, Crespo is busy exploring and pushing his own creative boundaries while continuing to maintain a lucrative business.
“I found myself in the right place at the right time. I have a great space, in a great building. I was itching to get back into photography. Art is tenuous, I’ve been pulled back in.”
Early in his career, art directors at Toronto Life Fashion, Chatelaine and Hamilton This Month all recognized Crespo’s passion for fashion and photography and recommended he focus on portraiture. Crespo later moved to Italy to pursue and build a successful career doing just that.
It was around that time Crespo won a National Magazine Award. The 1992 portrait of Curator, Ihor Holubizky, in Hamilton This Month garnered the top Gold Medal for editorial portraiture at the 1993 National Magazine Awards.
Ihor Holubizky, 1993 National Magazine Awards
As a self taught photographer, Crespo shoots portraits using traditional analog cameras and film. Along with his i-phone and digital camera he continues to implement both 4 x 5 and 8 x 10 large format cameras into his practice. Crespo is old school in his creative practise, developing images onto paper negatives and also using a collodion wet plate process. He then brings these same images into the digital realm where he creates painterly timeless compositions.
“Contagion”, Mixed Media
Crespo finds himself moving back and forth in time, pushing the boundaries of traditional photography while experimenting and embellishing what he refers to as photographic sketches in the digital realm.
“Being self taught, I don’t have any ideas around what is right or wrong.”
“All of the Images I produce start as black and white photographs. I like pushing effects and wanted to start painting on the images.” Working this way is a matter of growth and change for me.” says Crespo.
“The work is a catalyst for self-discovery. Initially I was really scared to do this (paint) because there are so many great painters.”
His courage has paid off. Crespo has created images that take the viewer into an imaginary past and sometimes future triggering ideas of memory and dreaming. Crespo embraces mixed media sensibilities with some of the tactility found in graphite sketches and the subtleties of watercolour painting.
“Broken”, Mamiya RZ67, Plus-X Pan, Silver Print.
“I see the work on my instagram account as studies for larger works. I am working to create large scale images from these sketches.”
“People are interested in purchasing my work. It is great validation.”
Crespo’s work recently appeared in LusoLife.ca print and online magazine. And, he recently completed portraits of Juno Award winning artists, Iskwe and Tom Wilson, for the launch of a new indigenous music label, Red Music Rising.
When asked, “What do you hope to work on next?”
“Afterglow”,
Paper Negative, Silver Print, Mixed Media, Sinar P 4×5.
“I am focusing on high end portraiture and branding. I will be launching a new business next month, Crespo MediaWERKS, Inc., And, I am also working towards building an exhibition of my work.”
Interior design by CrespoMediaWERKS Inc.