Fred Cray

The Unique Fred Cray

Written & Photographed by Kenn Sava.
Works by Fred Cray Photographed by Fred Cray.

Maybe this has happened to you?

There you are, minding your own business, possibly looking through a book in a bookstore.

Like John Divola’s Vandalism, to the right on that middle shelf, for example.

And all of a sudden, you see this-

“What’s this Photo doing in here? Is this part of the book? Did someone vandalize John Divola’s “Vandalism?,” I wondered aloud? No answer.

Close up of the inserted 4 x 6 inch Photo.

Turning it over, I see this on the back-

Is this a “Unique Photo” of someone named Fred Cray?

Then, some months later, it happened to me again. I was looking through another PhotoBook, this one by Doug & Mike Starns, and whamo…

A dialogue? A commentary? A random act of kindness?

Seeing the name “Fred Cray” printed on the back both times it dawned on me that- no, it’s not part of the book. Fred Cray isn’t the author of either book I was perusing, the Artist either was about, and this time it’s not a portrait. The Photo must have come from elsewhere. Fred Cray is ANOTHER Artist- the Artist creating these “Unique Photos.” Maybe this Fred Cray, himself, put it in here? And, there’s more. Both times, the particular image being placed in this spot in the book spoke to me. I wound up purchasing both books because I wanted to keep that serendipitous synchronicity intact. I got it! He’s an Artist working with a publisher to help them sell books! Naw…

A Unique Photo included with a copy of Fred Cray’s An Incomplete Journey.

Having this happen to me a few times, the name Fred Cray was now somewhat known to me, though the man and his work remained an utter mystery. At first, like most others who accidentally come across his work, I didn’t know what to make of it. An isolated image here and there? It’s impossible to get a sense of anyone’s work, as you see. Then, by chance, I happened to spot “Fred Cray” on the list of my readers, so I chanced writing to him to ask if he was “THE Fred Cray?” He replied that indeed he was. Shortly after, I discovered that he self-publishes PhotoBooks of his work. Once I began to see his PhotoBooks, I got a sense of his work, and I got interested.

An unusual Unique Photograph by Fred Cray included in his book Conversations. Unusual because it’s a larger 6 x 9 size (4 x 6 being his “standard” size) and because it’s signed on the verso.

I met him in person a few months later at a book signing for another Photographer we’re both interested in, and as we spoke, I realized that he and I had probably been in the same gallery, museum or book store, countless times before. He’s as obsessed by Art & PhotoBooks as I am, and his taste is, unsurprisingly, from looking at his work, wide ranging. I find all of this interesting and a bit unusual. Many Artists, Photographers & Musicians I know don’t want to know what others are doing. They either don’t want to be influenced or are too focused on what they themselves are doing. Not Fred. Every time I have the pleasure of speaking with him or conversing with him by email, he’s up on whatever is going on at that moment. This show or that? The odds are he’s seen it, including a good many out of town, which I don’t get to. Chaos at the Whitney Biennial? He had just been there to see Nicole Eisenman’s work since it might have been leaving, though the announcement it might had only come a day or so before1 And, he just got back from over a month in Spain, where he “vandalized” (soft smile) both parks and the Prado Museum, blanketing the town with Unique Photographs, including some he hung in trees, he told me, with an impish grin. I would have loved to see a “candid camera” catching the reactions of those who discovered them. Taking stock of all of this, I wondered-

WHO gives away one of a kind works of Art?

A haunting Unique Photograph included with a copy of his book titled #. Being unique, need I say the Unique Photos included vary from copy to copy of his books?

As I began to get a sense of what he was doing, I mentioned to Fred that I had decided to write about him and his work. His first, and only, request was that I didn’t ask to follow him around as he distributes his Unique Photographs. The The New York Times had already done that. I can understand that, and I apologize, to him for leading with the Unique Photographs here at all. The Times reported that Fred had left some 30,000 Unique Photographs everywhere he’s been since about 2008. Has anyone in Art ever given away 30,000 unique works of Art? That means A LOT of people, like myself, who had never heard of him are discovering him and his work the same way I did- through finding those works by chance.

The earliest work I saw during my visit to Fred Cray’s studio- this Travel Diary, from the 1990s, above, when he was shooting film and black & white at that.Shortly after he returned from Spain for his annual out of the country summer trip, he invited me out to visit his studio in Brooklyn. Over the 4 hours we spent together, he told me that he has now distributed over 43,300 Unique Photos2! That, by itself, makes Fred Cray something of an NYC Urban Legend, but, as I found out, it’s really only the beginning of the story. Even after returning that night from seeing box after box of gorgeous full size (often very large), original works, the vast majority of them created in an edition of 1, i.e. unique, I realized that though we went through six or seven of the large boxes he had in his studio, he only showed me work dating back to 2017. Fred has been creating work since 1990!

Self-Portrait, 1994 *Fred Cray Photo

Frankly, I was shocked to see that everything he showed me was very good work, and much of it terrific in my opinion, all of it characterized by an exceptionally high consistency. Not only is Fred Cray one of the most interesting Artists using Photography working today, he’s, also, a very good editor. As we spoke, I discovered that anything that didn’t make his grade wasn’t saved. You see this very tight editing in his PhotoBooks, but when you’re looking through recent work in an artist’s studio, I generally expect to see some “work prints,” “pieces in progress,” or abandoned ideas. Not one.

Fred Cray showing me his work from 2017-9 in his studio, July 2019.

Yet? There’s more. As I got lost looking at work after work being passed in front of me for a few moments each, during these few hours, Fred was talking non-stop about the processes (plural) he used on these prints. At first I was stopped by terms like “Reprinted,” “Dissolve,” “Fragments,” and others, and when I backtracked and said, “What?,” I discovered he invented, and named, each process to realize his vision and create the numerous series his work is often grouped in to this point, as well as the multiple projects he’s currently working on. I counted at least 4 of these in various stages of completion. To go along with this, everywhere around the fastidiously neat and carefully organized studio are stack after stack of 4 x 6 inch Photographs- the size of the Unique Photos he distributes. Each pile was 5 to 6 inches tall. So? You tell me- how many photos would be in a 6 inch stack? Multiply that by at least 10 stacks. That’s about how many Unique Photographs Fred Cray had in his working piles. Maybe 5,000? Remember- each one is a one of a kind work of Art. That means it only exists that way on that print. Once he moves on and the files have been removed from his computer, he can’t duplicate it.

A Unique Photograph included with one copy of #. This one has hand punched small holes on it.

In 2019, many Photographers rely on their computers as the focus (sorry) of their workflow, their process, and indeed their work. Though Fred has couple of computers in his studio, I have no idea if they were even on. He never once went to one. He works off what he prints. Like everything else the man does- in his own way.

He’ll make these prints, then spread them out on his work table to study and assess them. From there, he’ll decide what the next step is. Does the print in question get modified? If so, how? Though he attended Painting classes at Yale, a survey of the techniques Fred uses to modify a print would be a study in an of itself, if not a book. Does he put it back in the printer(! Decidedly NOT recommended by most printer manufacturers I know of) and “reprint” it with another image or partial image over it?! Or, maybe he’ll modify it using the spectacular, and spectacularly fragile “dissolve” process he invented that he used to create the works in his 2017 show of the same name at Brooklyn’s renowned Janet Borden Gallery, his dealer since 1998. Some of this series may be seen in his book of the same name (the first 40 copies of which comes with an actual unique print from the Dissolve series).

I’ve never seen a Photograph that comes with its own warning label before. The glassine envelope the Unique Dissolve Photograph included with this copy of the book Dissolve.

To make these works, as I understand it, Fred prints the images on a surface that repels ink! After he does, the image, such as it is, or was, “dissolves” in front of his eyes, morphing into something else, possibly something useless, in moments. The Artist halts the process at the moment that speaks to him, freezing the image in the delicate and fragile state it every bit appears to be in from just looking at it.

The one of a kind Dissolve work inside.

By now, a pattern was emerging here.

Perhaps you, too, see a strong Buddhist influence is all of this (even before that last picture)- The giving away of one of a kind Art works reminds me of the Sand Mandalas created by Tibetan Monks over, in some cases, long days of arduous effort, only to then sweep them away after a ceremony. Impermanence is a core value in Fred Cray’s work- and it permeates his approach was from giving away original unique Art right down to the techniques he’s invented, like his “Dissolve” process, and his new, “Fragments” Series, he gave me a sneak peak at.

A haunting image of The Flatiron Building from the “Dissolve” series now appears in this work from Fred’s new “Fragments” series.

No need to get the science books out to understand this one. (Phew…My science book section totals zero. Unless David Hockney’s Secret Knowledge counts as science.) One day, Fred came home to discover his cats had decided to show him their “editing skills.” They had chewed up some of his work prints. Undaunted, and taking a philosophical approach, he decided to put them to work. He took the “scraps” they had left behind and mounted them on other images. Voila, “Fragments.” A large print of the Flatiron Building hung near his door and captivated me the moment I walked into his studio and saw it. Sure enough, a work from “Fragments.” Often, when he “reprints” a Photograph, or creates a work in his “Dissolve” series, he’s not sure, (exactly, or even at all) what he’ll get. In that regard, there’s a Zen element to his work as well.

And? To my shock (and the horror of the Art history lover in me), it turns out the impermanent nature of Fred’s work extends much further.

Monet in the 21st century? *A work from Fred’s “Dissolve” series.

Over the course of my 2 1/2 year “deep dive” into the world of Modern & Contemporary Photography (think post-Robert Frank’s The Americans), it’s become apparent to me that so-called Fine Art Photography is something of a wild west with no rules. Unlike Painting, a Photograph, in theory, can be reprinted ad-infinitum, indefinitely, for as long as the negative or the digital file exists. That some Photographers have taken to reissuing their work in second editions, something of a strict no-no to this point, and any number of estates have brought in others to print their Artist’s work (which, frankly, raises questions for me), says to me that it can be pretty scary to buy Photography for the big money being asked for it, and all Art, in these days at the top of an Art Market that hasn’t seen a price correction, or worse, in decades. Therefore, it seems to me that, as a by-product of his philosophical approach, Fred Cray is something of a “Photography collector’s dream.” Once Fred is finished working on a body of work, he removes it from his computer.

He keeps no archive!

Like that Unique Photo you found? Keep it safe because it cannot be duplicated or replaced. In this sense, his work is like that of a Painter’s. “Unique” means unique. Fred does create some editions as well, and his PhotoBooks are published in small editions of between 5 and 200 copies each. So fascinated by the PhotoBooks Fred has created over the past decade, I am devoting an entire piece, a Part 2, to look at them.

I looked at you tonite and you weren’t even there. An deeply personal work using found words in a large, editioned size, seen on the wall of his studio.

When I queried him on all of this (I don’t think he noticed my mouth opened as I grocked his replies), I asked him about the 4 x 6 Unique Photos he hands out- “Don’t you have an archive of them? I’d love to be able to look through them and see them all.” He picked up a half sheet of torn paper next to his work table. On it were columns of numbers going down, all but the last of which had been crossed out.

That’s it.

The sheet simply records the last number he had handwritten on a print so he would know which number to start with next time. When he reaches “9999,” he starts again at “1.” I’ll wait until you get up off the floor.

The universe is random. These 3 Unique Photographs that came with a copy of Changing of the Guard have consecutive numbers, something I haven’t seen before.

That means there are now 5 with the number “1” on the back, etc., but no way of telling which one is the “REAL” “1,” and which is ten thousand and “1.” No record. No hermetically sealed vault of originals. Just what you hold in your hand. On the subject, he told me- “I keep lots of images I’ve taken (or found) over the years hoping that they’ll resonate in new ways  when I go back through them. But every time I go through old files I try to delete a bunch. If I can find a way to remake an image in a new way I have no problem doing that. I wouldn’t want to go back and make the print as it was perhaps made before. But you are correct in saying I don’t keep an archive of the Unique Photographs that have gone out.” That sound you’re hearing are the voices of all the future Art Historians who will be fascinated by Fred’s work saying “Goodbye” to their dreams of trying to compile a “catalogue raisonne” of his Unique Photographs.

Splendor Solis, 2019 (Seen in progress.)

On August 22nd, Fred told me he had just completed his latest PhotoBook, Splendor Solis. After working on a series on the Sun for years, taking Photos of it in various ways, he finally came across the right means of collecting and displaying them. One day on 14th Street, he discovered a book he felt was the perfect instrument. He proceeded to buy up 35 copies of it, which were stacked on the floor next to his work table when I visited him in July. On the table, I noticed an array of rubber stamps and some watercolors. He explained to me that he’s going through the books one copy at a time, adding about 15 Unique Photographs (yes, different in each copy of the book) to 3 recurring Photos. Then, he’s customizing pages with a variety of media- the aforementioned rubber stamps, watercolors, etc. The project is loosely based on alchemy. As I looked at what he was showing me, Bruce Conner came to mind, briefly. But, there really isn’t anyone else I can compare Fred to- not Cristina de Middel. Not Ray Johnson (who may be closest in some ways). Not Henry Darger. Not Jim Dine, Gilbert and George, or Vik Muniz. His work is, also, unlike Robert Rauschenberg’s, not an easy thing to do.

Impermanence incarnate. The complete edition of Splendor Solis. 31 copies, plus 5 Artist’s Proofs. Now that he’s finished them, there’s a very good chance they will never be seen together again.

Earlier, I mentioned the Whitney Biennial, in progress as I speak until late September. (My look at the 2017 Biennial is here.) Once again, it leaves me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it’s so hard for an Artist in this country to receive any recognition for their work, it’s good such things exist. I’m not taking anything away from anyone included when I say that each time the list is announced, my thoughts turn to all the great Artists who get left out.

Like Fred Cray.

The Artist holds one of his Unique Photographs with a selection of his books in front of him during an Artists’s Talk at a 10 x 10 Books Salon, May 16, 2019.

I told him this, and his reply caught me off guard. “Wouldn’t it be great if they had included a great Artist, like David Hammons?”

Undaunted, I’ll up the ante. Having had the chance to look closely at his work, albeit only from the past 3 years, (Fred, a 2003 Guggenheim Fellow, has been creating for almost 30 years now), I believe his work is going to receive more and more attention in the future- and in the near future, from collectors, and particularly from museums & their curators.

Why do I feel this way? Because, along with being continually innovative, the bottom line for me is his work is that good. And? Among all the Artists & Photographers known to me, there’s no one like Fred Cray. He’s unique.

-Soundtrack for this Post is “Changes” by David Bowie from his classic 1971 album Hunky Dory–

“I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence and
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same”*

My thanks to Fred Cray. 

This is Part 1 of my 2 part look at the work of Fred Cray. Part 2 is a look at the PhotoBooks Fred has published over the past decade and may be seen immediately following below this, or here. 

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Written & photographed by Kenn Sava for nighthawknyc.com unless otherwise credited. To send comments, thoughts, feedback or propositions click here. Click the white box on the upper right for the archives or to search them. Subscribe to be notified of new Posts below. Your information will be used for no other purpose.

  1. The situation seems to have been resolved in the following week, and the works will remain in the Whitney Biennial, as far as I know. ↩
  2. Fred added, “Early on I didn’t number the photographs, so there are probably an additional 1,500 un-numbered. I started numbering them to reiterate the unique aspect of the photographs.” ↩

The Complete PhotoBooks Of Fred Cray: 2009-2019

Written & Photographed by Kenn Sava & Fred Cray

This is Part 2 of my two part look at the work of Fred Cray. Part 1 may be seen above, or here. 

There’s been quite a bit of discussion about whether Photographs are best seen on the walls or in a book. The question goes much deeper, I think. For one thing, what kind of book are you talking about?

A Unique Photo by Fred Cray. Believe it or not, this was not taken in the NHNYC offices.

Photographs appear in, probably, well over half of all books published each year, I’d guess. Even in the world of Photography books, there are a number of different types of books published ranging from exhibition catalogs to retrospectives to monographs on a particular subject to biographies to how-to’s and on and on. And then there are what has come to be known as PhotoBooks. The PhotoBook is a book created by a Photographer in which they present one (as Paul Graham did in a volume of A Shimmer of Possibility) or more Photographs that are somehow related or connected in the mind and vision of the Artist, in an arrangement and design of the Artist, or under his or her direction. In a PhotoBook, unlike most other Photography books, every detail is part of the overall experience and effect. As a result, PhotoBooks are Artists’ Books and are often self-published due to their highly personal (i.e. limited market appeal) nature and often as close to hand-made feel as possible.

Self-Portrait from Self (2) by Fred Cray.

As I’ve explored the world of Modern & Contemporary Photography (post-Robert Frank’s The Americans, published in France in 1958, in the USA in 1959), I’ve discovered that PhotoBooks are something very much apart in the Art world and in the world of Art book publishing. They are an entirely different way of experiencing Photography besides seeing works on the walls in a show or in other types of Photography books.

Among the Photographers creating PhotoBooks today, Fred Cray’s books are one of the most continually creative bodies of work released in the past decade known to me. However, his first 10 books (his output up to 2013) were published in editions of just 5 copies each. Since then, his editions have totaled no more than 200 copies of a given title, and, to date none have been reprinted. As a result, only a small number of people have seen his books.

A selection of ten books by Fred Cray seen at a 10 x 10 Salon Fred spoke at in May, 2019. The two books in the lower left are display copies of titles that are now out of print.

As I wrote in Part 1 of this 2 part series on Fred Cray, after coming across a few of his Unique Photographs, I discovered Fred had been publishing his own PhotoBooks and began to see them. I found one here, one there, each one raising more questions and leaving me wanting to see more. As I began to look for them, I discovered that no one has as yet done an overview of them. I try and fill that gap here. As he hits the decade mark of self-publishing his own books in 2019, and as more and more people become interested in his work (which, as I said in Part 1, I expect will continue), I think it’s time for the first overview of this sui generis body of work. I am happy to say that I have had Fred’s help throughout, which I greatly appreciate. Still, responsibility for any errors or omissions lies with me, so if you have any corrections or additional information, please feel free to send it.

From Self, his first book, 2009.

Fred had been creating work for almost two decades when he decided to make his own book, as many Artists do who self-publish- as a way to see their work. The result was Self, a collection of black & white self portraits, five copies of which he published in 2009. On August 22nd, 2019, the Artist told me he had completed his latest and the most singular in a singular body of PhotoBooks, Splendor Solis, each of whose 35 total copies are hand modified on a page by page basis!

From Berlin.

Fred not only creates the work they include, he publishes the books, and then he gets out there and serves as his own distributor. Having been an independent Jazz record producer, I find it utterly remarkable that Fred, (as do innumerable other Artists, Photographers- like Kris Graves, who I’ve written about a few times, and Musicians, like Dave Fields), funds and produces each of these projects himself. Given the costs and the financial realities facing Artists in the big business world of books, I doubt his books are a money-maker for him. As with most Independent Publishers and Producers, they’re lucky if they break even so they can fund their next project.

Since he keeps no archive of his work, as I discussed in Part 1, his PhotoBooks are the only record of a good deal of his work, beyond what’s in the hands of collectors and museums (which currently includes The Museum of the City of New York, Middlebury College of Art, Smith College Museum of Art, and the Brooklyn Museum). Here, I’ll give a brief look at each book Fred has self-published to date. Many of the titles published from 2013 are still available, reasonably, at Printed Matter, Photo-eye, Amazon, AbeBooks or Dashwood. The books published from 2009-12, of which only 5 copies exist, begin at a thousand dollars per copy currently. Whether you find one of his Unique Photos out in the world, or buy one of his prints, Fred Cray’s PhotoBooks are portable works of Art in their own right. Over the past 10 years, they have become a very important part of Fred Cray’s Oeuvre. Here’s a look at each of them.

“No sleep til Brooklyn.” All of Fred Cray’s books to date have been created there. Here, a selection of Fred’s share a shelf with the Beastie Boys Book, the composers of that song, in February, 2018,

All books are listed chronologically from the earliest in the following format-
Year published- Title, Publisher (All titles are understood to be self-published. A few bear his “64” imprint1 so these have been noted), followed by the edition size. 
Next are pictures of the cover and sample contents, including Photos taken for this piece by Fred Cray as noted. These are followed by new comments from Fred and publisher’s statement at the time of the book’s release.

All of this is accompanied by my selections from “Song of Myself” by another Brooklyn Poet, Walt Whitman, from Leaves of Grass, as the Soundtrack for this Post.

The Complete PhotoBooks of Fred Cray: 2009-2019

2009, Self- (ISBN 97800984238729) Published in an edition of 5 hardcover copies.

Self. Fred Cray’s first book, copy #5 of 5 in existence is seen here. Photo by Fred Cray.

A collection of his early, black & white, Self-Portraits, a genre in which he has continued to this day, though in color. Fred told me this about Self in 2019- “The work in this book is black and white self-portrait images, usually large format, sometimes multiple exposure. I was transitioning back to photography being the primary or base medium I was working with. Painting, printmaking, iliterary influences and interests inform just about all my photographs from this point on. One main reason I was photographing myself was that I was working a lot of hours (70 plus per week) in the painting/construction trades. I’d get home late and it would often be easier to photograph myself than anything/anyone else. I’ve continued to photograph myself periodically with a primary intention of seeing how far I can transform the same figure, how far the boundaries can be pushed and still have it be the same self. The earlier self portraits followed a period where I had been making a few black paintings and wanted to make black photographs, so I painted the wall and myself black. These images stretched for a couple years into performative aspects (setting myself on fire, eating dirt – a Gabriel Marquez reference), buried, and tarred and feathers. I then moved into using silver body paint (white didn’t resonate for me).”

The first page of Self.

Fred never seems to spare himself in the pursuit of a good image- no matter what he has to endure to get it. From Self.

“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”*1

2009, Words- (ISBN 9780984238705) Published in an edition of 5 hardcover copies with Unique Photographs, letters, and other paraphernalia.

Words. Photo by Fred Cray.

Describing Words Fred Cray said in 2019, “A variety of images from different bodies of work that incorporated words. This includes Sequiturs, Travel Diaries, Unique Photographs, and some general street photography images. This book was intended mostly as a compilation of works with words to show the importance of words and thinking about art (with words vs. instinctual reaction which is a whole other thing). I’ve been observant of text since perhaps high school. The adding of text to a photograph was the first time I digitally altered photographs. To this day I still photograph random bits of text, particularly  when walking around. It’s interesting to me who text is intended for and when it involves people it was not intended for. A lot of what makes text interesting (for me) is context or out of place context. Once I went on vacation to Mexico without a photographic plan. As we walked on the ocean I thought of how waves could make new words. So I spent two or three days making hundreds of photographs where waves erase letters to make new words. For example by erasure tear can become tea. I only used a couple of those images in the book.”

From Words.

Publisher’s statement in 2009- “Book contains 56 images plus numerous original photographs. Also included in the book are signed letters from the artist. Several unscratched lotto tickets are included in the book, either directly visible or underneath original added in photographs. This book included images from several of the artist’s series including his Travel Diaries  and images with text added to create ambiguous meanings.”

2009, Uniforms- (ISBN 978098423871) Published in an edition of 5 hardcover copies.

Uniforms. Photo by Fred Cray.

Fred Cray in 2019- “This is a book with images begun shortly after 9/11 when people in uniforms became much more present in our lives. Police, military, and fire fighters were the primary focus. The uniform portraits initially began as both an inverted extension of my two minute self-portraits and as a slight form of aggression towards the police. The first portraits were hand held two minute photographs (quasi mug shots) of cops standing on duty. I’d never had a great love for cops so I started photographing them as angry cops. I expanded the series to include other military personnel but drew the line there. Over the course of the several years I was working on this project the portraits became much more sympathetic. I felt these people were just being used for agendas they might not like or understand. I believe this is reflected in the images themselves.”

From Uniforms.

Publisher’s statement in 2009- “This book contains 49 images taken over several years and shows the photographer’s changing attitude towards people in uniforms. Taken before and after 9/11 the photographs range from straight forward almost mugshot portraits to soft focus images, to computer altered portraits. Included in the book are several added in one of a kind photographs signed by the photographer.”

2010, Self (2)- (ISBN 97800984238729- It uses the same ISBN number as Self. Fred intended this to be a 2 volume set.) Published in an edition of 5 hardcover copies.

Self (2). Photo by Fred Cray.

Fred Cray in 2019-  “Self(2) contains later color self-portraits, starting with two minute self-portraits. Both (Self and Self((2)) had red cloth covers. The Self-Portraits are an ongoing series of work, and these two volumes were intended to compile a selection of the images to date. A fair number of new images with the self (in one form or another) have been made since then. I believe I started making color self-portraits around 1997. Most of the black and white self-portraits date from the late 1980s-1995. Early in the 90s I was working mostly on Travel Diary work (never did a book of those due to the dense nature of the work not reproducing well on a printed page). One of the concerns I’ve always had with photography is the way it holds up on the wall with paintings and other media. Photography often seems thin and quick compared to painting. The color self-portraits taken after 1997 were large format two minute exposures. I would paint the wall and then paint myself different colors. I could over the course of the two minutes draw or paint with myself. Other images in this book include a few singular Travel Diary  frames where I’ve included a self-portrait as one of the four layers in these multiple exposure works, collaged and rephotographed photographs, and other images that have led to recent work where I am physically breaking down photographs to make new photographs.”

From Self (2).

“Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am,
Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary,
Looks down, is erect, or bends an arm on an impalpable certain rest,
Looking with side-curved head curious what will come next”*4

2010, Red- (ISBN 9780984238736) Published in an edition of 5 hardcover copies.

Red. Photo by Fred Cray.

Fred Cray in 2019- “Photographs with red in them. Mostly, I was thinking about a different way of selecting/editing work, but was also aware that red played a role of potency in my images. Red is sort of a compilation project incorporating various series of works. It was more of an editing/concept book than something I went and made work for. Word, Porn, Self-Portraits, street photography all feature in it.”

“I used to lie on the floor. They used to kick me and say ‘the animal’s still alive.'” From Red.

Publisher’s statement in 2010- “Red contains 81 images plus several original unique added in photographs. In this book all the photographs contain some amount of red and cover the photographer’s wide range of work including street scenes, self-portraits, multiple exposures, and images with text.”

2010, Berlin- (ISBN 9780984238750) Published in an edition of 5 hardcover copies.

Berlin. Photo by Fred Cray.

Fred Cray in 2019- “I spent a summer there in 2010 out photographing all day every day. Berlin has been important for artists for quite some time. I wanted to experience the city and witness some of the art scene. These summer trips have been important for me to reside somewhere outside of NY and someplace relatively unfamiliar so I can see “more freshly” than perhaps I do during daily life in NY. There were interventions I photographed with words placed or written in situ. Much of what I ended up doing in Berlin could be considered minor interventions; some interventions were with words and some with objects such as bread crumbs and band aids. In a way these interventions are similar to the process of leaving Unique Photographs, though people wouldn’t want to collect the band aids or bread crumbs. I was in Berlin prior to my leaving lots of unique photographs, though I did leave a few (perhaps around 20). I wrote the words stoned and punk on rocks that were piled in construction sites around the city.”

From Berlin. Fred Cray, “On the plane ride over there I was eating a nondescript, at best, meal and started tearing up the roll. It occurred to me to leave bread crumbs throughout Berlin (similar to Grimm’s fairy tales (they’re buried in Berlin and there’s an image of the tombstone in this book)).”

Publisher’s statement in 2010- “Berlin contains images taken in that city during the summer of 2010. This book continues the photographer’s street work, works using words, multiple exposures, and works with objects. Not a visual description of the city but an impression of a place important to the art world.”

2010, Movies- (ISBN 9780984238736) Published in an edition of 5 hardcover copies.

Movies. Photo by Fred Cray.

Fred Cray in 2019- “I had (and still sometimes do) photographed movies as a source for images to work with. The Travel Diaries in particular contained layer after layer of movie images allowing me to mix elements of time and place. A friend at one point commented on frames within the Travel Diaries suggesting making blow up works from single frames. This book contains later (post Travel Diary) film images, usually two minute images where I hand held the camera for two minutes while the film was rolling. In retrospect, had I known I was going to make the Porn book which followed this book, I probably would not have made this book. The important element for me was the use of time lapse imagery and playing around with time. The Porn book really stretched the use of time lapse. Most of these images were just a few seconds of a film combined into one still photograph.”

From Movies.

2011, Porn- (ISBN 9780984238767). Published in an edition of 5 hardcover copies plus two artists proofs.

Porn. Photo by Fred Cray.

Fred Cray in 2019- “The Movies book contained a few porn images. A few friends who looked at the Movies book commented on how strong and resonant the pornography images seemed to be. They invoked a lot of different things to people.  I spent a couple months watching/photographing pornographic movies. The same time lapse technique was  used so each singular image contains at least two minutes of actual film footage. As I mentioned this came about after the Movies book. When I showed people the Movies book the porn images were commented on most. Talking about porn with people made me realize how prevalent it is and how little it is discussed compared to its prevalence. It turns out just on the world’s largest porn site 5.5 billion hours of pornography is consumed each year. I was buying disks so I could stop and fast forward the images. It seems people don’t mind talking about pornography privately, but they don’t want to talk about it publicly.”

From Porn.

2011, Rome- (ISBN 9780984238774) Published in an edition of 5 hardcover copies plus two artist proofs.

Rome. Photo by Fred Cray.

Fred Cray- “I had been to Rome once years before. I was wary of spending an extended amount of time there fearing there were so many brown monuments that I’d end up with a boring series of images. I took along gels to put in front of the camera lens and ended up with a good number of vivid color works , some of which were shown at Janet Borden for the first gallery exhibition of Unique Photographs. Referring to his annual summer trips, like the one to Madrid this past July, Fred added, “I try to make these summer trips long enough so that something new happens in the work. Generally that means at least six weeks in one place. I try not to leave the city chosen, so that I visit time and time again places and see them in different light and circumstances. Also by staying in the one city I’m making myself  think that there’s not something else or something better somewhere else I should be considering. I spent summers in Athens and Tokyo (which I want to revisit) but don’t want to make book after book about my summer in so and so city. In Rome I wandered into an antique store and found a replica skull. I bought it, spray painted it gold, and carried it around with me to photograph.”

From Rome.

Publisher’s statement in 2011- “This book contains images made in Rome during the summer of 2011. Many of the images are multiple exposures of the city’s monuments and ruins in saturated colors. Contrasting images show contemporary life and people attached to their digital devices. Several unique original photographs are included in this volume.”

2011, Devices- (ISBN 0984238794) Published in an edition of 5 hardcover copies plus two artist proofs.

Devices. Photo by Fred Cray.

Fred Cray in 2019- “For a few years starting perhaps 2008 I started photographing people with their electronic devices. I was particularly interested in the element of isolation in public that phones and headphones create. Many of these images were taken in museums in Rome and Berlin on various summer trips.”

NYC Street shot from Devices.

2013, Unique Photographs- (ISBN 9781617042010) Published by 64, Published in an edition of 200 copies, each containing 4 Unique Photos, and 22 Artist’s proofs.

Beginning with Unique Photographs in 2013, it and every subsequent Fred Cray book includes at least one Unique Photograph laid in.

Each copy comes with four, different, Unique Photographs.

Subtitled “Volume 1 of the Unique Photographs” Fred has distributed. From the publisher in 2013- “Since 2008 over 10,000 Unique Photographs have been left or hidden in unexpected places in New York, around the United States and in different parts of the world including Europe, Asia, Australia and South Africa. The photographs are printed, stamped and numbered. This artists’ book frames the ongoing project, includes many of the best photographs, photographs of them in situ and some emails from individuals who have felt the compulsion to contact the artist after the random encounter with his work. Each copy comes with four Unique Photographs.”

Fred showing pages from the Unique Photographs book at a 10 x 10 Salon, May 16, 2019.

2014, Changing of the Guard (Unique Photographs Volume 2)- (ISBN 9781617042027) Published by 64 in an edition of 200 hardcover copies.

Changing of the Guard, with the Unique Photographs that came with this copy.

Fred told me “The Guard” in question is one of The Metropolitan Museum’s Guards. I can vouch for that as I’ve seen him there a number of times. From the publisher in 2014- “Changing the Guard repeats the same image of a museum guard with 52 variations created by double printing. Fred told me that after publishing the book, he went back to The Met and, after some effort, located this Guard. He showed him the book and his reply was “You make money from this?” As you can already see, in this book, everything but the Guard, changes.

2014, Conversations- (ISBN 9781617042034) Published by 64 in an edition of 200 hardcover copies.

A copy of Conversations, left, with a Unique Photograph, right, found in Aubervilliers, France by Amouret Hugues of French TV in a Wolfgang Tillmans book, that appears to be a variation of cover image.

Publisher’s statement in 2014- “An artist’s book in which photographs of words have been interwoven with the monologue from a 1960s illustrated book, creating a discussion between today and the 1960s. Photographs by Fred Cray. 64 pages; 64 color plates; 9.25 x 11.5 inches.”

2015, Cray Cray- (ISBN 9781617042102) Published by 64 in an edition of 100 softcover copies, and “a few” collector’s copies with 7 unique prints included.

A sealed copy of the now sold out Cray Cray. It contains 1 or 2 Unique Photographs.

Publisher’s statement in 2015- “Cray Cray continues Fred Cray’s work with Unique Photographs. This book contains 36 double-printed images all of which use the same self-portrait as a constant. Each copy comes with at least one unique 4×6-inch double-printed self-portrait. “

2016, # – (ISBN 9781617042041) Self-published in an edition of 150 hardcover copies.

The cryptically titled # with the Unique Photos that came with this copy.

“Clear and sweet is my soul, and clear and sweet is all that is
not my soul.
Lack one lacks both, and the unseen is proved by the seen,
Till that becomes unseen and receives proof in its turn.”*3

2016, Silhouettes– (ISBN 9781617042096) Published by 64 in an edition of 100 softcover copies.  

Silhouettes, with the Unique Photo that came with this copy.

Publisher’s statement in 2016- “Silhouettes continues Fred Cray’s Unique Photographs project. In this book images are derived from scans of double printed works where silhouettes or their inverse are over-layed upon a variety of subjects.

2017, An Incomplete Journey- (ISBN 9781617042089) Published in an edition of 30 softcover copies, and “a few collectors’ copies.”

An Incomplete Journey with the Unique Photographs that came with this copy.

Of this book, in January, 2017, the Artist said that he was “finishing a very limited edition (30+ a few collectors’ copies) handmade book titled An Incomplete Journey. About an abbreviated trip to Kolkata, India last year. Trip was cut short by my mother’s death and title refers both to trip and her life. 8.5″ X 11″ inkjet printed on archival matte paper. Different handmade paper covers. Unique Photos inserted.”

2017, Dissolve- (ISBN 9781617042072) Published in a hardcover edition of 165 copies, the first 40 copies of which come with a Unique Photograph. There is also a Limited Edition of 4 signed copies with 48 Unique Prints, 4 x 6 each, contained in a rigid, 50-page notebook.

Dissolve. This being one the first 40 copies, its Unique Photo is below.

2018, Transparency- (ISBN 9781617042058) Published in an edition of 150 softcover copies bound with a carton staple(!) plus 15 artist’s proofs.

Transparency with the Unique Photograph that came with this copy.

In November, 2018, Fred Cray said of Transparency, “(The) book is a combination of images on paper and on acetate which swings back and forth between two pages. Not a narrative but an interpretation of a recent series where two images were printed on the two materials and then sewn together with thread. Book is printed in a small run of 150 plus 15 collector’s copies. Carton staple bound softcover. Many many thanks to Edition One Books for their extraordinary work and diligent patience with this project.” Elsewhere he added- “Transparency is another component to the Unique Photographs project. The book parallels but also deviates from the recent series of artworks where drawings were printed on acetate and then sewn together with photographic print underneath. For the book some of the drawings have been printed on acetate which flips between two printed pages. Other drawings are incorporated through the artist’s practice of double printing a variety of images with unexpected juxtapositions. The book deliberately aims to create more of a cacophonous experience than the prints did. The book is printed in a small edition of 150 (plus 15 collector’s edition copies). Softcover and carton staple bound. Each book contains at least one 4’x6’ double printed Unique Photograph from the Transparency series.”

The Transparency book features a variation on the larger prints he’s created that have an acetate sheet hand sewn on top of a Photograph. In the book, the acetate sheet is bound between pages, effecting the image on each side depending on how your turn the sheet as I show here, and below-

“Have you reckon’d a thousand acres much? have you reckon’d
the earth much?
Have you practis’d so long to learn to read?
Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems?”*2

2019, Dark Dog- (ISBN 9781617042065) Self-published in an edition of 200 softcover copies. 24 pages, 11 images. Thread bound.

Dark Dog

In November, 2018, the Artist said, “Been working for a while on this series with a (usually dark) dog. I see it as a metaphor for our dark times. I tend not to engage directly in political art so this is as close as I come. Unique Photo pieces with fragments of other photo works.”

The Unique Photograph laid in to this copy.

“I have heard what the talkers were talking, the talk of the
beginning and the end,
But I do not talk of the beginning or the end.

There was never any more inception than there is now,
Nor any more youth or age than there is now,
And will never be any more perfection than there is now,
Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now.”*3

2019, Splendor Solis- (ISBN- Undetermined) Published in an edition of 31 copies with 4 Artist’s Proofs.

Splendor Solis, 2019 (Seen in progress.) This was a brand new book, as seen on the right, until the Artist “modified” it, left. He said, “I’m not sure that there are too many photography books that began by being smacked around with a hammer and then sanded with heavy grit sandpaper and having paint spilled on them.” Photo by Fred Cray.

In preparation as I worked on these two pieces, Fred told me he had completed Splendor Solis on August 22nd. Each copy contains 15 or 16 Unique Prints and 3 repeated prints that are are altered in a way that makes them unique. Each copy is hand modified using rubber stamps and hand-painted watercolor additions and modifications.

Past, present and the immediate future- Fred Cray in his studio, surrounded by his work as he ponders his next step in the creation of Splendor Solis, July 27, 2919. When you speak to him about work in progress, he continually speaks of his “next steps” and “where he can take things” from here.

In August, regarding Splendor Solis, Fred said, “I’d been photographing the sun for a few years. The NYPL picture collection has been a great source for my work. One day I was going through vintage advertisements and came across an image on how to take pictures. There was a drawing that instructed one to never photograph the sun directly but to keep it at one’s back. So that cemented the idea to continue directly photographing the sun (I’d been doing it for a number of years but not with the idea of making a series of it). Since last spring I knew I wanted to make some sort of book about this work. I was talking with a well known educator who also collects photography books. He mentioned he had lots of books he was happy to have but only looked at them once which was when he bought them. In the back of my mind I wanted to make a book that almost demanded multiple viewings. Another aspect to the sun series book was that I wanted each copy of the book to be different, to contain different Unique Photographs, a sort of challenge to myself to see if I could come up with about 400 decent unique photographs of the sun.”

The state of the art. A sample spread from Splendor Solis Fred provided on August 20th. In addition to the Photo on the left hand page, which I believe he took on his summer 2019 trip to Madrid, many of which can be raised from the bottom to reveal another image under, everything in color has been added by the Artist. To get an idea of the size of this project? Multiply this by many of the 104 pages in each book, times 35 books! Photo by Fred Cray.

He added, “One day earlier this summer I was looking for a book with drawings of the sun. I couldn’t find anything but did stumble across this book Splendor Solis which had a couple drawings of the sun in the context of alchemy. The book seemed ideal as a vehicle in which I could insert the Unique Photographs. I intended to insert them and call it quits. Once I started playing around with the insertion I realized something more was needed. I started painting the existing illustrations with water colors. The project grew out of control to the point where I estimate I’ve spent 12-14 hours per book, not including the time it took photographing the sun over the past five or so years, and not including the time it’s taken to make the prints. This book has really fulfilled the ideal I have at the best of times to not know how a project will turn out and to give a project room to grow out of its specific needs. Three of the images repeat in all books as a type of anchor but are altered with holes in ways that I consider to make them all unique. The edition of 31 is to relate to the lunar calendar- plus four. It’s been a time consuming monster, but has become a book I didn’t imagine – which is really the best part of making something.”

In mid-August, I got a first hand look at the level of the attention to detail Fred is bringing to this “monster” project. I accompanied the Artist to The Ink Pad in Greenwich Village.

Fred Cray holds a copy of Splendor Solis as he judges the suitability of rubber stamps to add to it at The Ink Pad, Greenwich Village on August 15th.

Surrounded by upwards of 1,000 rubber stamp designs of every subject under the Sun (sorry), Fred knew exactly what stamps he needed and exactly what kind and color of ink he would use them with.

As a last touch, Fred decided to add gold to the book. Here are the same pages in two different copies giving an idea of the similarity and the variance from copy to copy of Splendor Solis. Photos by Fred Cray.

On August 20th, he said this regarding the premise of the book- how to make gold- “I did come up with another twist/layer to the book in the middle of night last night. Since it’s a treatise on alchemy  and the reader can only be disappointed since gold can’t actually be made, I figured I should include some real gold as a consolation of sorts…I never imagined this project would expand like it did, but I’m glad it did. It’s that thing of staying with something for a while so it organically grows and goes in a certain direction, rather than just being an idea.”

“Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the
origin of all poems,
You shall possess the good of the earth and sun, (there are
millions of suns left,)
You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor
look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the
spectres in books,
You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things
from me,
You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.”*2

What I saw of Splendor Solis as it progressed revealed a book that, given all the hand applied elements it contains, in addition to recurring and Unique Photos, blurs the line between PhotoBook and Artist’s Book. If it doesn’t create something entirely new of its own. A fitting culmination to a decade publishing a unique body of books.

Addendum- Other publications on Fred Cray that he was involved in but did not publish himself-

2000, Fred Cray May 3- June 18, Exhibition catalog published by Tremaine Gallery, The Hotchkiss Gallery, Lakeville, CT, Edition size unknown. 12 pages with full page reproductions in color and black & white.

Fred Cray, 2000. An exhibition catalog is the very first publication devoted to Fred’s work.

The earliest publication of Fred’s work known to me. Published to accompany a show of his work at the Tremaine Gallery at the Hotchkiss School, in Lakeville, CT, which he graduated from in 1975, before moving on to get a BA from Middlebury College, studying at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, both in 1979, and the Yale Graduate School of Painting, where studied Painting.

“Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop somewhere waiting for you.”*52

The Artist signing one of his books. May, 2019.

*-“Soundtrack” for this Post are quotes from “Song of Myself” included in the immortal Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, that he wrote between 1855 and 1881, along with the stanza number they appear in.

My thanks to Fred Cray.

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  1. When I asked Fred about this, he said, “64 is a pun on a bar/restaurant a friend used to own up on an island (Vinalhaven ) in Maine.” ↩