“I am a self-taught photographer who has combined, over the years my long-time interest in political science with myphotographic journey. Although I do not work from anyone’s theories on the appropriate direction for contemporary art, most of my photographs exemplify the post modernist notion that to be relevant to the final quarter of the 20th century, art needs to be political in nature. I am, however, an artist, not a propagandist. Consequently, my images are not overtly political: the viewer must take time to think about each photograph to arrive at its ultimate message.”
“Like my forerunners, Jacob Riis, Lewis Hine, and Dorthea Lange, I present beautifully crafted, matter-of-fact images of my subjects, but my work goes beyond the parameters of photo-journalism. The boxers, prisoners and cremation images deal in subtleties that are ultimately political. In later series I manipulated my subject matter to create metaphors. These photographs can be particularly disturbing, sometimes shocking. But my goal is never to merely shock, rather, I want the viewer to think about the image and answer these specific questions in his or her mind: Who is the person in the photograph? What is (or was, in the case of the death images) their life like? How do you feel about the issues being raised?”
“I have already asked these questions of myself. I arrived at my answers through the direct experience of being up close and personal with my subject no matter how emotionally difficult it was for me. Through photography, I attempt to share my experiences with the viewer.”
“In 1991, I received a $35,000 corporate grant from Eastman Kodak Professional Photography Division; Reflections of the Spirit, a personal odyssey of a young boy struggling to become a man through the vehicle of boxing. I have received corporate grants from Ilford, Beseler Company, Polaroid, JOBO Fototechnic, Techno-Balcar, and LexJet. I have exhibited nationally and internationally and am in numerous museum and corporate collections, and recently had a portfolio of my work purchased by the George Eastman House International Center of Photography.”
“My first book, The Face of Forgiveness Salvation and Redemption was published by powerHouse Books, spring, 2005. I recently received funding to document Newtown, an African American community in Sarasota, Florida, and PBS produced a documentary of this project. I am a Lexar Elite Photographer, X-rite Coloratti and an adjunct faculty member at Ringling College of Art and Design. I reside in Sarasota, Florida with my wife Sharon, and our Shar Pei, Miles, Lakeland terrier, Calie., and two rescue dogs, Jazmin, Alaskan Husky and Taxi Mundo, a wired hair terrier.”
“I migrated from Omaha, Nebraska in 1977 with the rest of the snow birds. Florida is very plastic, pink flamingos, and man made, Disney world. Many people forget that Florida is a southern state that still wears its bigotry and racism around its neck. Living in a small community for so long, has given me the opportunity to work undistracted, allowing me the opportunity to walk through many doors that would otherwise be more difficult in a large cosmopolitan area.”