Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Carothers.
Jason, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I am a storyteller above all else. I believe everything can and should tell a story, and I strive to prove that with everything I create. My love for storytelling was born with writing short fictional stories when I was seven years old, starring me, my siblings and my best friends. As I got older, writing stories slowly morphed into creating simple home videos. I fell in love with film making, and since then I’ve been shaping and honing my film making and my photography, trying my best to present the world around us in a unique and thought-provoking manner.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I am a filmmaker, director, cinematographer and photographer. I’ve created several videos set to music that serve as stories told simply through visuals, along with working on writing, directing, filming and creating short films and feature-length films. I’ve also done video and photo work for magazines, reality TV, weddings, concerts, and other various odd jobs here and there throughout Houston.
There are so many stories that I want to tell, whether they’re a brand new story that I create or a well-known story that I want to tell from a new perspective. I see stories all around me in everyday activities. While I do adore having a film-style story with dialogue and characters and so on, one of my favorite things to do with my art is telling a story or portraying an emotion with nothing but simple details. The location of the shot; the position and angle; the color scheme; the clothing, body language or facial expression of the person in the frame; all of those things I listed and so many more small details can tell so much to the viewer without a single word.
I don’t want to create work that’s just “good quality” or “pretty.” I want to create art that’s interesting. I want the viewer to sit back and think after seeing my work. If there’s a certain emotion I’m trying to portray through a video or a photo, I want the viewer to feel it. Whenever someone views my art, I don’t want them to think about how good looking or well done it was. I want them to feel something from it. I want them to leave with a different mindset than what they had beforehand. If I do it correctly, my art will make the viewer think, possibly about something or from a perspective they never have before.
What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
I think the role of the artist is growing more important every day. Art in and of itself is necessary. It defines who we are. Art shows better than all else what it means to be human, and why it matters to be so. When we look at civilizations of past times, we learn the most about them as people through their art. It shows their mindset, their emotions, their feelings on the world and on themselves as individuals. And that still applies to art today.
There are so many constant horrible events happening in the world every day, and people are tired of the way the news and the general public portrays it, so bleak and hopeless. It’s awful. Now I’m not saying the world should be lied about and people should live in ignorance. Quite the opposite. We need to be aware of everything happening, in an honest, unbiased mindset. But an artist can portray these events and horrible things in a new light that the news or other sources can’t do.
An artist can portray modern events on a personal level. They can take something that’s never seemed very important to you and show you why it should be. It gives you a connection to something that you never realized you had, and it can open your mind to brand new perspectives as it speaks to you in your own personal way. Art isn’t about showing what something is. It’s about showing why something is.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
All of my photography and most of my shorter video work can be found on my Instagram (@afigurefortheclosingoftime), while all of my different videos can be found on my Youtube channel (Jason Carothers). The thing I appreciate more than anything else is when people let me know what my art spoke to them personally. I love hearing how it personally affected the viewer. Just a simple comment or a brief message describing their personal thoughts on the video or photo makes me so happy and encourages me to keep creating.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 832-459-5935
- Email: jcnotjacee@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afigurefortheclosingoftime/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jason.carothers.90
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnCkwBFpQgl_nuseRhTeedQ
Image Credit:
Jon Mellenthin, Jason Carothers
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