Below you will find Ron's artist statement, an intervies with Ron and a list of actions taken by the administration which have negarively affected the LGBTQ cummunity.
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Artist Statement
Beginning with the selection of a running mate who is unabashedly anti-gay, to a series of presidential nominations of people with histories of anti-gay agendas, the current president and administration of the United States has engaged in a war against the LGBTQ community. After years of our community making steady gains in employment, housing and education rights, as well as legal recognition of same-sex relationships, this administration is continually dismantling those gains.
The obliteration of policies and programs designed to protect the rights of LGBTQ people is systemic and widespread. Many in the administration, and many of the current president's supporters, would prefer we just go away, hide or deny our very identity. At the core of this is their repudiation of us as sexual beings building loving relationship with partners of our choice. This photo series is a visual expression of our community getting pushed back, denied basic protections under the law and being expected to forego the basic human rights of loving and community building.
In January of 2017, I set out to make a political statement because of the broadcasted attitudes of some in the incoming administration with regard to LGBTQ protections. I make work around the male figure, so it seemed natural for me to use that genre to express my point of view. I also wanted to express that what makes us gay is our sexual attraction to our own gender.
Throughout our history, the gay community has tried to make our existence more palatable to straight people but saying things like "it's not about sex, it's about love:' I find that to be a false portrayal of humanity and sexuality.
At the core of our humanity is sexuality. To deny sexuality as an important influence in how we build our lives is to deny who we are as living, thriving human beings. Sexual attraction and its fulfillment is key to living a healthy, productive life. The men in these photographs are depicted as having an impediment to that fulfillment, denying them the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. – Ron Amato
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