Although born and brought up in Brooklyn, Monaco was inspired by his mother's tales of her life growing up in the mountains of Southern Italy. He visited the area and took the photographs to send to her - this was the start of a life long project. The works are in black and white, of times and places which exist no longer, yet not recorded in a mawkish or sentimental sense.
The people of
Monaco's images are strong, the women of Italy struggling to survive and
raise children. In more recent works he has captured the lives of monks
and nuns in their solemn yet joyous routine.
