Artist Spotlight: Ron Amato on "Men In Nature"

Art Prints Photographers Spotlight





MEN IN NATURE SERIES
photographs by Ron Amato


Artist Statement


Eighteen years ago I visited Provincetown, Massachusetts for the first time. Although it was a pleasure trip, making photographs is always part of every adventure on which I embark. As usual, I packed my camera, a few lens and some film. At the last minute, I decided to throw more film into my bag. I ended up taking all the film in my refrigerator. Something told me I might need it.


That first visit to Provincetown was a transformative experience for me. It was a feast for all my senses, most importantly my vision. The combination of beautiful men and beautiful landscape was too seductive to resist. As any artist living in or visiting Provincetown frequently knows, the light there is extraordinary. I knew this from Joel Meyerowitz's seminal work Cape Light, but wasn’t prepared for the effect it would have on me. I ended up shooting every frame of film I took with me. It began what is sure to be a lifelong project I call Men In Nature.




Ron Amato photographed  by Gregg Evans



I’ve been contributing to this body of work for the past eighteen years. I try to make images everywhere I travel, from Fire Island in New York to Lake Como in Italy. It is made with all natural light, which differentiates it from my other work which, for the most part, is made with created light. It is as striped down and natural as possible, just the human body in nature. There are no affectations, no accoutrements. This work is at once a travelogue, diary and autobiography. At the end of my life, it will be the body of work I will look back on most fondly.

- Ron Amato

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Ron Amato is a Professor in the Photography Department at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Much of Ron’s work centers on issues of sexual identity. His seminal show of sexual self-portraits at Richard Anderson Fine Arts in NYC in 2000 earned Ron a reputation for his frank portrayal of the sexual dynamic between men. In 2016 Ron published his first monograph, The Box, which continues his exploration of these themes. The photo series and book garnered worldwide praise and won an American Photographic Artists Award for Outstanding Photography Series. Ron’s work can be seen at www.ronamato.com and on Instagram @ron_amato

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