I don’t know if my brother, Michael is understandable. Mike was diagnosed as being profound retarded and autistic; he is also nonverbal. I have tried to understand him, and will continue to do so. That I have not succeeded is troubling in a way, but my reaction to my brother’s condition has enabled my inquisitive approach to life.

I’m an observant person. I continually looked for clues from Michael. Perhaps with enough hints I could construct a coherent narrative of who he was. This approach to gaining knowledge has been very fruitful for me. By watching and waiting, I was less prone to jump to a conclusion and more open learning to something unexpected.

I love novel ideas. I also appreciate knowing how things work – the engineer in me; I strive to express my ideas comprehensibly for all to see – the artist in me.

Photography is one way that I explore relationships among objects in space. I have found that if a subject is meaningful to me and I perform my job as a photographer properly, my photographs will have meaning to others.

I also enjoy drawing. It requires a great attention to detail. To see something in 3 dimensions and recreate it with one’s own hand in 2 dimensions has always been one of my ambitions. One needs to create proper contours or shading;  constituent parts of the subject must be correctly proportioned; like photography, the subject must be framed properly on the page. In the final analysis, one needs to be hyperaware of the scene and the drawing, the differences between the two, and how to correct one’s errant marks to properly render what one wishes to express. Below are some of my first sketches of my brother.

Thank you Michael.