Ralph Ingersoll - the man accredited with being the catalytic force of LIFE magazine - once commented that "pictures are for rich or poor, without regard to race, creed, or prejudice..."

When LIFE made its debut in 1936, photography was already an integral part of the American culture. People accepted photo-journalism as historical documentation. And, with the average readership of popular magazines at nearly 80% by the mid 1940's, the medium came to define and reflect a common world view.

As an artist relying for the most part on common images from pre-1960's American and European magazines, I find my photo "palette" has its limitations. However, using elements of recognizable cultural artifacts to create fresh concepts is both challenging and rewarding.

The photo-collages presented in DOORWAYS TO THE IMAGINATION are based on an internalized connection to the resources gleaned from 60 German periodicals, and created over a six month period [1997-98]. The collages serve to reflect my feelings, dreams, and experiences, while using hand picked images as a visual language.