The Faces of a Generation Deserve Attention
An Essay by Dr. Jerry Winakur [This essay written by author and physician Jerry Winakur is reprinted with permission from Caring for the Ages, a publication of the American Medical Directors Association. Dr. Winakur is Clinical Professor of Medicine at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio where my exhibit, Aging Across America, was shown this past winter in the Briscoe Library.] For the …Read More
15 Years of Covers on The Gerontologist
This video explores my photographic work that has appeared on the cover of The Gerontologist (TG) over the past 15 years. The Gerontologist is published by Oxford University Press, and is the flagship journal of the Gerontological Society of America, and is devoted to multidisciplinary research and education in all aspects of aging. I started publishing photos on TG back in 1996. The subjects include friends, teachers, …Read More
Aging Across America Goes to San Antonio
My new photo exhibit, Aging Across America, will make its debut at the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in February 2011. Directed by Ruth Bergrren MD whose background is Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease, the Center hosts special events throughout the year that feature authors, artists and performers from across the country, and …Read More
Photographing America’s Aging Heroes: The Tuskegee Airmen
I have been photographing Aging Across America for some time, and one of my favorite subjects is elderly veterans. I had heard about the Tuskegee Airmen from various news articles. These men were the first group of African American aviators to fight for America in World War II. In a racially segregated military, these men smashed the barrier of race and helped us win the …Read More
Aging Across America Visits a California Shopping Mall
Last year I read about a group of elderly men from India and Pakistan who meet daily in a shopping mall in Fremont, California called The Fremont Hub. The article talked about the local population of northern Indian immigrants, and recounted the trials and tribulations of these elderly newcomers. I decided that I would make these men part of my portfolio of Aging Across America, and …Read More
The Elders of Taquile Island in Peru
Taquile Island, a 452 acre rocky gem in the western part of Lake Titicaca in Peru, is home to a remarkably fit and sturdy group of elders. I discovered them on an international road trip to find and photograph faces of aging and learn how different cultures approach growing old. At 12,500 feet above sea level, Taquile Island is largely isolated from the rest of …Read More
Aging and Invisibility
My aging related art was recently covered in a post written by Paula Span in the New York Times blog, The New Old Age. It was gratifying to spend time with this outstanding journalist and share my images, many of which are finally being shown after years of storage. I was touched by some of the comments that readers wrote in response to the blog …Read More
Ping Pong, Aging, and the Disuse Syndrome
On a trip to Australia this past November I had the opportunity to visit with and photograph the oldest professional ping pong player in the world. 98 year old Dorothy DeLow lives in a well kept home nestled in a suburb of Sydney. She demonstrated her ability to keep a ball in the air and in doing so exhibited the hand-eye coordination of a 25 year old. …Read More
Shakespeare, the Diversity of Aging, and the Need for Geriatrics
The plays of William Shakespeare written in the sixteenth century reflected the culture and opinions of his time. In Shakespeare’s day, life expectancy was in the 30’s, and Shakespeare himself lived to the old age of 52. In contrast to today’s population, very few people lived into the 80s and 90s. Throughout Shakespeare’s works there are quotations which echo the universal human dimensions of growing …Read More
Parsley, My Geriatric Dog
My medical specialty is taking care of elderly people, but lately I’ve become attuned to problems taking care of an elderly dog. Parsley, my 18 pound Norfolk Terrier, is now fourteen human years, or 98 dog years old. He’s had his share of medical problems includ- ing knee injuries, bladder stones, and metal objects in his stomach, but age-related issues have developed in the past …Read More
