I have a vivid memory of my first camera. It was given to me as a Christmas present when
I was seven, and the following period was one of the happiest of my
childhood. However, it was not until college that photography became
a life commitment. One of my professors at the University of Western
Connecticut, H. Jonathan Greenwald, was a member of the Heliographers
Union in New York City. He agreed to talk to me and look at my fledgling
photographs. We are still close friends to this day. Jonathan introduced
me to the work of Paul Caponigro and my path was set. Meeting Paul
and learning from him about the work of other photographers showed
me the path I wanted to follow. This period gave me a basis to build
on and affirmed my feeling that there was more to photography than
representational imagery, it could reflect my philosophy of life.
The early years, the sixties,
were a very confusing and exciting time for me. Coming from a working
class family, my introduction to the world of art by Paul Caponigro
created a major shift in my view of the world. I worked with Paul
intermittently from 1967 to 1973. It was early in this period that
I met Edward Steichen. We all lived in the same area of Connecticut.
I told Steichen I wanted to curate a show in our small town and he
agreed to help. He sent me to the Museum of Modern Art and Grace Meyers
helped me find the photographers I wanted to have in the show. All
were vibrant, and, except for Steichen, young: Paul Caponigro, Jerry
Uelsmann, Ken Heyman, Greenwald, Steichen and many more. The show
was a minor success and was reviewed positively in the New York Times.
Steichen’s photographs were two hundred dollars each for beautiful
vintage work. The other works were sixty dollars. Nothing sold from
the exhibit. I remember this very clearly, and it conveyed to me a
strong sense of how undervalued photography was in our society. |
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