Debbie Millman has an ongoing project at PRINT titled “What Matters.” This is an effort to understand the interior life of artists, designers, and creative thinkers. This facet of the project is a request of each invited respondent to answer ten identical questions and submit a nonprofessional photograph.
Max Amato is a designer, art director, artist, illustrator, and children’s book author based out of New York City. He is currently working as an independent design director and is open for project inquiries. Previously he worked full time with the amazing people at Character, Doubleday & Cartwright and Sidlee, and has freelanced with a variety of other studios and agencies.
What is the thing you like doing most in the world?
Playing basketball. For me it’s an absolutely beautiful sport and it involves so much creativity that it can feel like an art form at times. I love showing up to the park, playing with complete strangers, and turning them into friends. I love playing by myself as a kind of meditation. You can forget about all the mundane, complicated things in your life and just focus purely on the all important task of putting a rubber ball through a metal circle.
What is the first memory you have of being creative?
I had a super creative up-bringing, major thanks to my parents for that. It’s actually hard to pick out a single memory because we didn’t watch much TV when I was a kid, had no cable, no video games, we were always just making things. One memory that does stick out is that my mom had the idea for us to create a home-made mini golf course in our backyard, and I remember what it felt like to make it together, and then experience playing with something that came out of our imaginations, rather than something we bought.
What is your biggest regret?
Not prioritizing learning to cook. I’m such a busy person that I often find myself going long stretches of time where it feels like the only way I can meet all my deadlines is through quick takeout or super basic cooking, and it’s been like that for years. Doesn’t help that my kitchen is tiny and has no counter space! Excuses, I know. Home cooking is such an important life skill that can have a major emotional impact on us from a young age, and I feel pretty behind in terms of my abilities. Luckily, as far as regrets go, this is one that I have the power to change.
How have you gotten over heartbreak?
Embracing independence is the first step that’s worked for me. Saying, ok fine, I’m on my own right now, so let me lean into that, let me go to concerts by myself, let me draw in the park, let me take myself out to dinner. When I’ve turned heartbreak into an opportunity to get to know myself more and enjoy the process, that has helped me get out of mental states where I feel like I need to be with a person to be happy.
What makes you cry?
Live music. Seeing music live is such a cool way to experience art and is a major reason why I love living in NYC. I’ve been to countless shows here, and sometimes it can feel spiritual. You are having your own personal dialogue with the performer, you are also having a collective experience with everyone else in the crowd. The fact that there are mistakes, spontaneity, moments that can only be experienced once. The fact that people can be brave enough to share such personal art with complete strangers. It just gets to me sometimes. I have gotten especially emotional watching the artist Dijon perform. That guy’s raw feelings come through more clearly in his abstract, experimental, textured music than anyone else I have ever listened to.
How long does the pride and joy of accomplishing something last for you?
I hate to say it, but it dissipates real quick. I am not really ever satisfied, and anything I ever accomplish always feels like a step on the path to the next thing I want to do, it never feels like THE thing I wanted to do. I’m actively working on trying to take a moment to recognize if I accomplish something. It’s fun to celebrate the work of friends and family, I wonder why it can feel hard to have the same pride for my own work.
Do you believe in an afterlife, and if so, what does that look like to you?
I’m not a religious person at all, and so I don’t believe in traditional forms of afterlife in that sense. I don’t believe in heaven or hell. I don’t believe in reincarnation. That being said, I have a really hard time believing that when we die, that is just…it. I don’t know what the afterlife looks like, but I do feel like our energy has to go somewhere. I guess I’ll find out at some point.
What do you hate most about yourself?
I hate being an overthinker. It’s exhausting. I’m not the best at making quick decisions, I turn them over and over in my head, looking at every angle, making sure I’m always making the perfect choice. At times it can be a good quality, but a lot of the time, it makes me feel anxious and overloaded with self-imposed pressure.
What do you love most about yourself?
That I don’t judge people. I like to think that I make the people around me feel comfortable and at home and like they are in a safe space to be themselves. As much as I love New York City and am so lucky to be surrounded by some of the most talented people in the world, it can be an incredibly cynical place to be, where it feels like everyone is always sizing each other up and trying to out-cool each other. I try and push against that a little bit.
What is your absolute favorite meal?
Peruvian chicken with yucca fries from El Pollo Rico in Wheaton, Maryland. If you know, you know.