Photographer Josh Aronson Captures the Spectrum of Masculinity

Over Zoom, Josh Aronson appears on screen, smiling. His tight, perfectly gelled curls frame his face. He's currently taking part in his first artist residency in a city that has lured many, from Ernest Hemingway to Jimmy Buffett — Key West.

When he's speaking with New Times, Aronson is putting the finishing touches on works for two shows, which will be on view during Miami Art Week. The 30-year-old photographer is showing four images as part of the group exhibition "Unveiling Power: Examining Influence," currently on view at Green Space Miami through March 2025. Aronson is also one of 12 artists exhibiting as part of the City of Miami Beach's No Vacancy with a large-scale print installed in the lobby of the Catalina Hotel.

In addition to his two Miami shows, Aronson's work will be featured in the "Currents" exhibition at the Ogden Museum in New Orleans, on view December 13-February 23.

"Oftentimes, I feel like I'm only just getting started when it comes to my personal photography practice," says the established editorial and commercial photographer. "In a way, it's great because I still get to enjoy a lot of these firsts. My first artist residency, my first public art installation, my first museum show. I'm still working towards a lot more firsts."

All the photographs Aronson is exhibiting stem from his "Florida Boys" collection. Aronson admits that returning to Miami in 2020 allowed him to gain perspective on the true magic within the Magic City. After high school, the dreamer went to college in Chicago before moving to New York City. The pandemic brought him home, and he found himself craving the outdoors.
The "Florida Boys" series started with a minivan and quick road trips to Central and Northern Florida with either creative friends or strangers. Aronson would look for pockets of nature that felt ephemeral, almost unreal.

"I was imagining this type of Florida that doesn't necessarily exist in real life but can be made to feel real through photography," he says.

These trips allowed Aronson to fall in love with Florida again, writing a love letter to the Sunshine State ever since. "When I returned home, I realized how fortunate we are to be surrounded by this scenery. The sunsets, the palm trees, the ocean. But it's also the people who make Miami so special," he adds.

Over the last few years, Aronson has amassed more than 8,000 stills. At one point, after publishing a collection of images in his book Tropicana, he put the films in a drawer and left them untouched until 2023.

"When I finally opened that drawer with hundreds of rolls of film and brought them into the lab and started to look at them, I was able to get a perspective on what I was making," he says, gripping a black ballpoint pen.

He was then able to see what blanks he needed to fill in order to keep adding to this narrative, adding to the world he was creating in his mind. "The plan for the horizon is just to keep working on this format and keep adding to the story."

Aronson is exhibiting four images at Green Space Miami. The ask of the artists for this exhibition was to interpret the idea of power as it pertains to nature.

"For me, a lot of the work of 'Florida Boys' deals with power in the sense that we're photographing youthful men, often men of color, in these locations in the South that have a dark history — abandoned cars, rundown homes, old gas stations, decaying places, things like that. We're reclaiming our power, reclaiming the space, and showing joy and intimacy in places that would otherwise feel haunting."
Aronson thought deeply about the space and location for his installation at the Catalina Hotel. Miami Beach is riddled with people on their way in and out, so there's always movement.

"I thought about Miami Beach as this cultural haven that has a history of queer culture in it, but that also has a history of migration and being like a revolving door for tourists and people who come through Miami," he explains.

Aronson wanted to take the opportunity to display another side of Florida that visitors might not get to see. So, he selected a piece titled Spring, which shows five boys happily floating in a spring.

"It's a really special moment because not only are we seeing these young people experiencing leisure and enjoying themselves in the natural landscape of Florida, but what I also see is this true spectrum of masculinity. From these effeminate characters to these slightly more, you know, macho jacked characters," Aronson says.

The 291.75-by-240 inches photograph is printed on a translucent fabric, allowing it to change with the space. The image moves as a breeze comes through the doors or a large crowd excites the space. Not only does the airflow affect the photo, but the sun also influences its appearance.

"It's my largest installation to date," says the photographer with a grin.

"Unveiling Power: Examining Influence." On view through March 2025 at Green Space Miami, 7200 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; greenspacemiami.org.

No Vacancy. On view through Thursday, December 12, at the Catalina Hotel, 1732 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; mbartsandculture.org/no-vacancy.