Joseph Vitone
(Akron, Ohio, 1954 - )
North America, American
Vitone and his wife both grew up in and around the Akron area. In 1998, Vitone began to document this extended and complex network of individuals in a series he entitled Family Records. His choice of a large-format camera allows his portraits, says Vitone, to “show individual strands of hair, beads of moisture on skin, the texture of fabric and subtle tonal variations.” Drawing back from these details, one can see that these images are studies of nature and nurture, exploring personality, relationships and the nature of familial and emotional bonds. The photos also evoke a strong sense of the physical environment of Northeast Ohio.
Vitone’s documentary work extends to examining cultures abroad in Europe and Asia. His work is in the collections of the Center for Creative Photography, the Museum of Fine Art, Houston, and the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History. A professor of photocommunications at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, Vitone has also led international education trips to China, France and Japan. In 2001 he was a senior Fulbright Scholar which supported his project that highlighted small scale family farming in Costa Rica.
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