Presented by United Photographic Artists Gallery

As an artist, I originally took photographs as source material for my paintings (photo-realistic watercolors), but eventually abandoned painting altogether for photography. I have photographed subjects as diverse as architectural details in Italy, Dachau Concentration Camp, the ritual sacrifice of sheep in Morocco, graveyards in New Orleans and transgender/nightlife personalities in NYC. I've always been interested in art history and particularly came to admire the work of Edward Hopper, Eugene Atget, and Diane Arbus. Aside from taking pictures, I also produced and directed award-winning documentary films about people living on the fringe of society. From 2011-2014 I produced Gotham Burlesque, an off-Broadway burlesque/variety show. According to Time Out New York, Gotham Burlesque was one of the top nightlife shows in NYC. How does one go from photography to documentary films to producing a burlesque show and then back to photography? I believe that each phase organically lead to the next. I feel that producing the films and the show made me look at photography differently. It made the work more theatrical and cinematic.