A series created at a maritime academy in Castine, Maine by photographer Ryer Spann. Spann graduated from Maine College of Art with a BFA in photography. Raised by his sister in a family mostly of women, Spann’s upbringing created a sense of safety around women and a distance from men. “Blue Spring” sees Spann navigating a militarily structured institution with a student body that is 90% male over the course of a year in an attempt to understand how masculinity and the reproduction of patriarchy works in a place with little to no visible examples of femininity or queerness.
“I sought out what acts of love, violence, and tenderness look like when it is being produced and reciprocated socially by men. This space acts as a world that directly teaches ideas of dominance, stoicism, and control in an attempt to create an idea of worthy men, and I believe the moments in which those are both heavily reproduced and/or begin to crack at the seams is where you can begin to see the effect of place on its inhabitants. The work itself is driven by a sort of conflicted desire, an internal want to be accepted and a part of this community while realizing I could never fully do that nor deep down would I want to. Because of this desire the work operates as both a document of a real place and a reflection of my own internal questions.”
Ryer Spann participated in our 2026 Book Award open call and made our shortlist.
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