Conversations

Excerpts from a Conversation with the Artist about 10.7.23

On March 17, 2025, I sat down with a friend and recorded an unscripted podcast conversation about the unfolding tragedy in Israel and Gaza, as well as my career as a lifelong Jewish artist.

It was two days after my 75th birthday.

Perhaps what surprised me the most during our chat was how emotionally fraught and rattled I still was — nearly 17 months later — about the savage murder and kidnapping of over 1,200 Israeli Jews at the hands of radicalized Gaza Muslims.

And how lucky I had been to have been born in the American Midwest in 1950 and to have grown up in middle-class suburban Chicago.

One of the satisfactions of old age is having the time to connect the dots of one’s life into a coherent picture and, perhaps, even a hero’s journey.

All the seemingly random events, dashed dreams, professional pitfalls, momentary successes, brushes with death and enduring loves now make complete sense, rather than just being a story told by an idiot signifying nothing.

Old men are often prone to rambling, and I am no exception to the rule. The roughly 90-minute conversation has been edited down to about 55 minutes. This content has been divided into three short segments.

They include:

Ruminations on my Art from October 7, 2023
My Journey as a Jewish Artist
My Hopes for the Future

If you find my art of interest, I believe that the deeply felt and imperfectly expressed excerpts from my podcast will resonate with you.

In any event, the recorded conversation was ultimately meant for my two-year-old grandson.

Hopefully, he will listen to his grandfather’s words and view his artwork on the web when he is young man about to begin his creative journey, hopefully as a proud, creative and freethinking Jew.

Ruminations on my Art from 10.7.2023
Confronting the Unimaginable

My Journey as a Jewish Artist
From Mid Century to New Millennium

My Hopes for the Future
Reasons for Optimism