Food for thought

INTERVIEW. It looks delicious enough to eat.

For 30 years, Newton photographer Robert Kaufman has made a name for himself creating an annual calendar that features the ripest of nature’s bounty. Kaufman, a self-described foodie, has a passion for fruits and vegetables, and it comes as no surprise when you leaf through his glossy 30th anniversary edition of Edibles. From succulent berries to just-ripe bananas, Kaufman has a talent for delivering photos that make your stomach growl and your mouth water. The distinguished photographer spoke with Metro about the sexuality behind fruit, what keeps an apple interesting and Italy.

Are you a vegetarian?
No, I just happen to really love fruits and vegetables.

What is your favorite fruit to photograph?
My most favorite fruit is the persimmon.

Why?
It’s just everything about the persimmon. Most people don’t know how to eat a persimmon. If you don’t eat a persimmon at its correct ripeness, you have a terrible experience. ... There are different varieties, a lot of it comes from Israel, and you can eat them when they’re not ripe. The real persimmon, which originates in Asia, when it gets ripe, the fruit gets so soft you’d think it’s rotten, but it’s the most incredible fruit you can imagine. It’s completely sexual. Every fruit is the sex organ of a plant. ... It’s extremely sensous.

Is it the fact that fruit could be considered sexual that you love photographing it?
No, absolutely not. That is just part of what a fruit is. It’s funny, 30 years ago when I showed the calendar to males and females, it was totally different. The males looked at it as if I was making some sexual pun. The women would see more of what it was and didn’t think [the sexual aspect] was the lead thing I was doing. Everyone’s orientation to things is different.

What is your primary artistic goal?
The visual aspect of food is the first step of the digestive process. I bring it so close that it’s almost as if you are about to eat it. ... My goal is to explore the world of fruits and vegetables. I’m on a journey, and I have been since 1977. It’s a visual journey. I’m constantly trying to take things people see all the time and show it in a new way.

The fruits and vegetables you photograph look amazing and almost as if they are fake. How do you achieve that?
I’m not using tricks at all. I don’t use artificial lighting. Every picture is with sunlight and natural light. I’m using a 35 millimeter camera. ... Take an apple, hold it in your hand in the sunlight, and you’ll see the same thing you’ll see here. I don’t do anything to them.

Is there any fruit or vegetable that’s dull and lifeless?
I don’t think so. Take the potato, for instance; it’s dirty but interesting. I don’t use any stylists. Most people think photography is about deception. In this case, it’s the opposite. It’s showing what is there.

Does it ever get boring photographing the apple over and over again?
It’s just the opposite — it’s the challenge of it that I go after. I want to have the apple and come up with a different way of seeing it.

You photograph all over the world. What is the best country to find interesting and beautiful food?
Italy. Absolutely.