When I was in high school, I had an art class in which my classmates and I were assigned to research and write about cubism and Picasso, and while I found the topic confusing, I found Picasso interesting. Years later, I had a chance to see a major Picasso exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, and for me, the experience was really life changing. I was listening to a lot of Richard Hell and the Talking Heads - downtown NYC artist-musicians, and regulars at the club CBGB's (the cradle of punk), artists who managed to combine highbrow, lowbrow & no brow elements in their musical performances - during this time in my life, and this music, along with seeing the works of a singular artistic giant such as Pablo Picasso allowed me to better understand what art is meant to be, what the role of the artist is in shaping elements of reality and making something new. This Picasso clearly did. And this, the punk scene also did. And this attitude inspires me everyday, especially when I am taking a photo of something.

one last comment - a quote from Picasso himself: Picasso worked. "Painting is stronger than I am," he once remarked. "It makes me do what it wants."

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