About the Artist
I was born in Brooklyn New York. After graduating from Hunter College in the Bronx {presently Lehman College} in 1969, I taught Junior High School science for 2 years in the Bronx. In 1971 I was accepted to dental school and finished in 1975. Now 46 years later I am still practicing dentistry in Mount Vernon NY. I try to spend as much time as possible in my vacation home upstate NY. I still shoot film and carry my Nikon F100 wherever I go.
Introduction to Photography
While teaching , I was fortunate enough to travel to Europe in 1970. In Amsterdam, I luckily befriended a German photographer living there. Uwe Laysiepen was a professional photographer with an avantgarde flair. For a full week we hung out together. I experienced first hand the workings of his genius. Later he became a performance artist working with Marina Abromovic and shortened his name to Ulay. His artistry was unique as well as his appearance. He had long straight black hair with an equally long mustache. He wore black long sleeved tee shirts with homemade leather pants, a cowboy hat and cowboy boots. Even the usually unfazed Dutch would turn around to look back when he passed them. As soon as I got back to New York, I traded in my Kodak Pony camera for a Nikon Ftn. The stage was set for my photographic journey.
Showings
My photographs have been exhibited in the Freeport NY library, the Rockville Centre NY library, The Chelsea Center in Brookville NY, C.W. Post College in NY, The Nassau County Museum in NY, the Art juxtapose Gallery in Rosendale NY and the Artbar in Kingston NY.
Photography
My photographic subjects are eclectic. I don’t usually like taking photos of people unless they are my family or close friends. I occasionally enjoy hand-tinting B&W photographs but I keep a section of the photo uncolored. I also have a technique that I refer to as “diffusion photography.” I spent years looking for the right medium to shoot through to give my photo a “painterly feeling” as evident in my florals.
