Painting, Poetry, and Medicine: Charles Demuth and William Carlos Williams
The special exhibit entitled Stieglitz and His Artists which recently closed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art had on view an American masterwork which was the fruit of collaboration between a physician-poet and a painter. The name of the painting is “I saw the Figure 5 in Gold” by Charles Demuth, and his collaborator was William Carlos Williams. Charles Demuth was born in Lancaster, PA …Read More
Photographing Los Ancianos of Bolivia
This past summer I returned to South America to photograph aging, and one of these photos is featured on the December cover of The Gerontologist. This is the flagship journal of the Gerontological Society of America. I am often asked about my “TG” cover photos (there’s been about 40 since 1995), so I decided to give some background on this picture. My destination was La Paz, …Read More
The Corpus Callosum, Buddha’s Enlightenment, and the Neurologic Basis for Creativity
My goal is to combine medicine and art, so I’ve thought a lot about the neurobiology of creativity. The corpus callosum is the thick bundle of 200 million nerve fibers that forms the communication network between the left brain and right brain. The left brain is the seat of rationality, science, and math, while the right brain gives us our intuition and artistic expression. Neuroscientists have …Read More
The Twilight of Jewish South Beach, Miami
When I was growing up, my grandparents wintered in Miami. I remember visiting them and feeling the warm sunshine and sand that sometimes scalded your feet when days were hot. In 1985 while training in geriatrics in New York City, I returned to Miami to photograph the aging Jewish retirees. Little did I know that I was recording the twilight of Jewish South Beach. These …Read More
Geriatrics, Art, and Ancient Treasure on Lake Titicaca
I recently traveled to the Bolivian highlands and Lake Titicaca to find new faces of aging, and on the way discovered an exquisite example of ancient treasure featuring geriatrics and art. The Pariti Ceramics Museum was not listed in my guidebook. In fact, Pariti Island where the museum is located is so small it is unmarked on most maps. I learned out about it from my …Read More
Aging Across America Goes to Sturgis
The elderly grandmother struggled to get her leg over the saddle of her Harley, and looked up at me a bit chagrined. “I just had my knee replaced and still having some trouble,” she said. The event was Sturgis, perhaps the largest motorcycle rally in America, and this lady was one of hundreds of older cycle enthusiasts, some of whom have been coming every year for decades. …Read More
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
Redefining Aging in the 21st Century
You won’t find Edith McAllister on the porch in a rocking chair. At 93 years old, she’s got a full schedule. “I go out every night and I’m booked solid every day,” she told me with a smile. I met Edith on a recent trip to San Antonio, where my photo exhibit, Aging Across America, was installed at the Briscoe Library at the University of …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
