Aging Inside Angola State Penitentiary
In November 2010 I photographed aging prisoners in Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana. After the GSA meeting in New Orleans I drove 150 miles through the wetlands, past Baton Rouge, then north up Highway 66. The facility was surrounded by 12-foot razor-topped chain link fences and sentry towers, and before passing through the gates, armed guards searched my car. After entering the facility I had …Read More
Aging Rock ‘n Rollers Take Manhattan’s West Side
The aromas of ganja and patchouli wafted across Broadway near the Beacon Theater Friday night, as the concert celebrating Wavy Gravy’s 75th birthday was about to begin. Born with the name Hugh Romney, he was onstage at Woodstock in 1969 and announced, “What we have in mind is breakfast in bed for 400,000!” Since his Woodstock days, Wavy has maintained a philosophy of community activism, founding …Read More
Will Barnet: Artist and Centenarian
Will Barnet, an American artist living in New York City, will turn 100 years old next month. I had the opportunity to photograph him recently in his home and studio in the National Arts Club in Gramercy Park. His paintings and drawings are in every major museum in the United States, and he is still making art. Experts have studied the mysteries of artistic creativity …Read More
The Faces of a Generation Deserve Attention
An Essay by Dr. Jerry Winakur [This essay written by author and physician Jerry Winakur is reprinted with permission from Caring for the Ages, a publication of the American Medical Directors Association. Dr. Winakur is Clinical Professor of Medicine at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio where my exhibit, Aging Across America, was shown this past winter in the Briscoe Library.] For the …Read More
15 Years of Covers on The Gerontologist
This video explores my photographic work that has appeared on the cover of The Gerontologist (TG) over the past 15 years. The Gerontologist is published by Oxford University Press, and is the flagship journal of the Gerontological Society of America, and is devoted to multidisciplinary research and education in all aspects of aging. I started publishing photos on TG back in 1996. The subjects include friends, teachers, …Read More
Aging Across America Goes to San Antonio
My new photo exhibit, Aging Across America, will make its debut at the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in February 2011. Directed by Ruth Bergrren MD whose background is Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease, the Center hosts special events throughout the year that feature authors, artists and performers from across the country, and …Read More
Art, Geriatrics, and Venice Beach
I have been coming to Venice Beach since the mid 1990’s, to chill out and enjoy the California sunshine. Even though I live in New York City, a good part of my life has revolved around this gritty enclave on the edge of Los Angeles. My first photography show was in nearby Santa Monica in 1999, sponsored by Dan Osterweil at UCLA when he …Read More
Photographing America’s Aging Heroes: The Tuskegee Airmen
I have been photographing Aging Across America for some time, and one of my favorite subjects is elderly veterans. I had heard about the Tuskegee Airmen from various news articles. These men were the first group of African American aviators to fight for America in World War II. In a racially segregated military, these men smashed the barrier of race and helped us win the …Read More
Aging Across America Visits a California Shopping Mall
Last year I read about a group of elderly men from India and Pakistan who meet daily in a shopping mall in Fremont, California called The Fremont Hub. The article talked about the local population of northern Indian immigrants, and recounted the trials and tribulations of these elderly newcomers. I decided that I would make these men part of my portfolio of Aging Across America, and …Read More
Pocket Guide to Pressure Ulcers: How I Took Those Photos
Many people have asked how I took the high quality photos of wounds in my recently published Pocket Guide to Pressure Ulcers. I’ve been photographing pressure ulcers and other skin conditions in elderly persons since my geriatric fellowship in 1985. The photos in this book were chosen from hundreds in my wound library, reviewed by Elizabeth Ayello and myself, and picked for the most typical example of …Read More
