--- description: The book addresses the community own lack of representation in the media title: A Visual Diary of Youth in New York's Streets image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted3a0e73e6abadb8/6988a16197cdff9b106ad591/kevin-amato-the-importants-phaidon-new-york-bronx-fashion-documentary-snap-shot-young-adults-grungy_02.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Visual Diary of Youth in New York's Streets by [Cassidy Paul](/author/cassidy-paul/) ## Cassidy Paul Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 4, 2016 9:00 AM CUT  From the book "The Importants" From the book "The Importants"Kevin Amato by [Cassidy Paul](/author/cassidy-paul/) ## Cassidy Paul Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 4, 2016 9:00 AM CUT Being young, wild, and free looks different in the streets of New York. In _The Importants,_ Kevin Amato brings together over 200 photos that capture his own experiences living in the South Bronx. The title of his book comes from a term Amato has coined for his group of friends and subjects. Amato’s photographs read like a visual diary of his life in New York. Working in the traditions of Larry Clark and Nan Goldin, his images show the gritty, face-paced, life of being young in New York. Combining both commercial assignments and day-in-the-life snapshots, this series of photographs plays with the relationship between fashion and street culture and offer a different perspective that works against Amato’s community own lack of representation in the media.  Cover and spread from the book "The Importants" Kevin Amato The design of Amato’s book flows seamlessly with the energy of his photographs. A constantly moving layout, images dance across the pages, overlap, and bleed into one another; never creating a consistent pattern for the reader. _The Importants_ matches its subject matter, expressing the youthful community in New York where things are constantly moving and changing. [**_Kevin Amato_**](http://www.kevinamato.com/ "undefined") _is a New York based photographer. His book_ [_The Importants_](http://www.phaidon.com/store/fashion-culture/the-importants-9780714872384/ "undefined") _is published by Phaidon and available now. Follow him on_ [_Instagram_](https://www.instagram.com/kevin%5Famato/ "undefined")_._ [**_Cassidy Paul_**](http://www.cassidypaul.com "undefined") _is a contributor for TIME LightBox. Follow her on_[ _Instagram._](http://instagram.com/cassidypaul%5F "undefined")  From the book "The Importants" Kevin Amato  From the book "The Importants" Kevin Amato  From the book "The Importants" Kevin Amato  From the book "The Importants" Kevin Amato  From the book "The Importants" Kevin Amato  From the book "The Importants"  From the book "The Importants" Kevin Amato  From the book "The Importants" Kevin Amato  From the book "The Importants" Kevin Amato  From the book "The Importants" Kevin Amato  From the book "The Importants" Kevin Amato  From the book "The Importants" Kevin Amato  From the book "The Importants" Kevin Amato ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4440064/new-york-youth/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4440064/new-york-youth/"},"headline":"A Visual Diary of Youth in New York's Streets","datePublished":"2016-10-04T09:00:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:39:44.611Z","description":"The book addresses the community own lack of representation in the media","url":"https://time.com/4440064/new-york-youth/","keywords":["LightBox","New York","Youth","fashion","photography","bronx","portfolio","photobook"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted3a0e73e6abadb8/6988a16197cdff9b106ad591/kevin-amato-the-importants-phaidon-new-york-bronx-fashion-documentary-snap-shot-young-adults-grungy_02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cassidy Paul","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cassidy-paul/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted3a0e73e6abadb8/6988a16197cdff9b106ad591/kevin-amato-the-importants-phaidon-new-york-bronx-fashion-documentary-snap-shot-young-adults-grungy_02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"kevin-amato-the-importants-phaidon-new-york-bronx-fashion-documentary-snap-shot-young-adults-grungy_02","caption":"kevin-amato-the-importants-phaidon-new-york-bronx-fashion-documentary-snap-shot-young-adults-grungy_09","creditText":"Kevin Amato","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4440064/new-york-youth/","name":"A Visual Diary of Youth in New York's Streets"}}]}] ```