His style is often classified[citation needed] as observational mixed with scientific, and a dominant theme in his work is the role of the human eye.
His Suspensions of Perception focuses on the period from about 1880 to 1905, exploring the second half of the nineteenth century in which a new way of seeing was introduced.
This new development of vision created controversy because it implied that seeing was dependent upon one's subjective thoughts, which were based on what the observer saw.
[3] Crary's Techniques of the Observer gives a unique study on the origins of modern visual culture.
Crary has also written on present day “art and culture for publications including Art in America, Artforum, October, Assemblage, Cahiers du Cinéma, Film Comment, Grey Room, Domus and Village Voice.”[4] Crary is also a critic and wrote critical essays for more than thirty exhibition catalogs.
Crary was one of the founders of Zone Books in 1986, which is a press known for publications in “History, art theory, politics, anthropology and philosophy".