ARTIST STATEMENT 2003-2009
From 2003 to 2009, ages 45-51, I worked with my family in a demanding business. My wife Diane and I had four children, two boys and two girls, all artists. Our boys had their Bar Mitzvahs, one of them in Israel. During this time, I created a few significant artworks and laid the groundwork for the future. Although I had a Fine Arts degree, I lacked graphic arts skills. To remedy this, I took the time to learn Adobe Photoshop and, eventually, the entire Adobe Suite. If you had asked my children back then who my favorite child was, they would have all answered “Adobe.” With my strong technical background, I developed an interest in using software in my art. This led me to discover photomosaics, using thousands of photos organized by composition, contrast, and color to create a single image. The portrait I made of Diane and me after 15 years of marriage took about 15,000 photos and led me to digitize all my paper photos. While I was in the scanning mode, I also digitized all of my parent’s photos. Since then, I have meticulously organized all of my digital files. This exercise led me to document my artwork and complete my mother’s and Father’s biographies—all significant projects. I also made fine art posters that combined conceptual images with figures, poetry, and song lyrics during this period. Surrounded by musicians, I tried to play bass but didn’t enjoy making music; however, I liked being connected to it through drawing. I also experienced constant throbbing in the back of my heels, which led to surgery on both Achilles tendons. The rehabilitation was extensive, and I developed a fascination with creating bugs during this time. Since I enjoyed experimenting with styles, they are perfect for small projects. I never could have guessed how far those tiny bugs would get me years later.
Steve with a Cast
HAPPENINGS:
2003 Space Shuttle explosion; Iran war; Yom Kipper War 2004 Mars Rover; Facebook launched 2005 Hurricane Katrina; Hurricane Wilma (11 days of no power) 2007 Apple iPhone introduced 2009 Obama elected
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