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
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
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
The Elders of Taquile Island in Peru
Taquile Island, a 452 acre rocky gem in the western part of Lake Titicaca in Peru, is home to a remarkably fit and sturdy group of elders. I discovered them on an international road trip to find and photograph faces of aging and learn how different cultures approach growing old. At 12,500 feet above sea level, Taquile Island is largely isolated from the rest of …Read More
A Taste of Ancient Peruvian Medicine
I just got back from a road trip through Peru to discover new faces of aging to add to my photographic portfolios. This was my first trip to South America, and on the way I discovered riches in people and culture, but one of my most unexpected experiences was getting a taste of ancient Peruvian medicine. Until the advent of science and technology, healing and …Read More
