Artist Statement
Jim seeks to examine places, people and objects differently, and to record images which tweak our consciousness by offering insights into the context, subject matter and societal implications of a particular time and place. Most of all, Jim loves shooting in cities and towns in the United States and also in Europe. The human condition, and our personal identity in society, for better and for worse, are Jim’s constant sources of inspiration.
Bio
Born in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago and raised in the very scrappy town of Cicero, Jim Spizzo now resides in the city. He has called the Chicago area home for much of his life. Jim and his wife now split time between Chicago and Scottsdale.
Jim has been shooting photos since he was 8 or 9 years old. He has used a variety of cameras including, early-on, the ubiquitous Kodak Instamatic; followed by several 35mm film cameras, and now the Nikon D810 and Z7 digital cameras.
Jim processes his own images, and does his printing on high quality, museum grade paper. All images are serendipitous. Significantly, Jim’s photos are neither staged nor otherwise artificially manipulated.
Jim is a graduate of Illinois College and the University of Iowa. Photography is his “2nd career.” He has taken photography-related courses over the years at the Springfield IL Art Association, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Arizona Highways Photoscapes, Chicago Photography Academy, and also online courses taught by pro photographers.
Over the past 2 years Jim has participated in 5 juried photo exhibitions, all in Chicago, including his first solo exhibit of 22 photos.