Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ron Monte. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Ron, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Throughout my life, I have had internal forces that call to me to take a certain action. I don’t know how, why or where they come from, but I have learned to be guided by these forces and go where it leads me. I grew up in NYC and my grandfather who worked in the fashion industry, often took me and my brother to work with him. For lunch he would take us out to eat. Places as diverse as the Automat (a utilitarian, fully automated restaurant) or the Russian Tea Room (a lavish, opulent over the top restaurant founded by members of the Russian Imperial Ballet). Wonderful unique places. On one of these outings, we were walking through Times Square, and looking up at all these giant billboards and flashing lights, the hustle and bustle of people, something just spoke to me saying, creating these giant works of art appeals to me and you should pursue this. I never did have a career creating billboards, but it did steer me into a career in the graphic arts. I did however create artwork for a giant billboard years later. Walking along the streets of NYC and seeing my work looming large over the city was one of the highlights of my artistic career. A poetic full circle journey some might say.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I started out as an independent film maker taking courses at NYU film School, inspired by the works of John Cassavetes, Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut. I won the best documentary entry in my freshman year. Durning the summer break I met a friend of my brothers who told about the School of Visual Arts in NYC where working artist taught classes, that he was about to graduate from. There’s a school for graphic design, I asked? He said, there sure is, would you like to visit it with me. I did. And that was that. I knew this was what I really wanted to do. I enrolled and started that September. In my second year I studied under Bea Fieltler, the first woman to art direct a major magazine. She took me under her wing, and I started to work for her out of her studio in my free time. The first project we worked on was redesigning Rolling Stone magazine when it moved to NYC from San Francisco. Then a redesign of Vanity Fair magazine. A sanctioned Beatles biography book. The Rolling Stones American tour program. I even got to help design the back cover of Bob Dylan’s Desire album. In my last year at school I landed a job at Travel & Leisure magazine. Over the years I worked for many magazines and a stint at Random House book publishers designing books. I also hopped on the whole computer design revolution in its infancy, which led me to designing magazines, marketing material and web sites online for the last 15 years. For the last 5 years I have started creating and editing motion graphic and videos. I have also been a life long fine art painter. I just received word that my paintings would be displayed in downtown Santa Barbara where I live now as apart of a collective show of large form works. This year I have have also pivoted to my latest endeavor, the creation and publishing of a music podcast called Albums Under The Radar about all genres of musical albums that were underrated but deserving of a lot more love and attention then they received initially.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
For me, that most important quality is applying the Nike principle… just do it. I know it sounds simplistic, but I hear so many people hemming and hawing about should they do it, they can’t do it, I don’t have the time… you just wind up getting bogged down with excuses. You have to set an intention. If you want to do something, tell yourself this is what I want to do and the rest will just fall into place either sooner or later. But without that intention, you are already digging yourself into a hole that’s almost impossible to get out of. The second quality I feel is very beneficial is having really thick skin. Especially in the arts where every one is a critic… regarding YOUR art. You have to be able to take constructive criticism. And finally one has to constantly strive to make your art or craft better. Never settle for your initial creation. Try to look at it in new ways. Different perspectives. One of the best lessons I ever received in high school was by my art teacher, who told me to look at everything you create as if you were a bird. Imagine flying over it, from above, from below, the side, outside, inside, every which way. See if there is a better way. And he was so right. Never settle. Always push yourself!
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
That’s easy. Create. Never stop creating. Paint. Read. Design. Learn a new skill. Help others out with the skills you have. And have fun doing it. That’s the ticket right there. Work hard, but have fun doing it. Otherwise, why bother?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mountart.wixsite.com/artmount
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/albumsundertheradar?igsh=ODl5NnRyYWRyMXFk&utm_source=qr
- Twitter: x.com/albumsunderther?s=11
- Other: https://mountart.wixsite.com/design
