Sunday, I was lucky enough to get to attend a presentation on the, now deceased, artist, Robert Wood, which featured some of my photos. It appears that for all his artistic contributions, photographs of him are pretty hard to come by. It was really lucky that I ran into Mara DeMattia and learned about her putting together a piece on Wood. I don’t really know who he was at the time though
See, I actually took a theatre class with the man. He seemed nice enough, if not a bit quirky. He was hard to miss, looking more than twice the age of anyone else in the class, unruly grey beard reaching to the middle of his chest, paint splotches covering his worn coat, and carrying his textbooks in a plastic grocery bag. I had no idea that he was not only this talented artist, but also a bit of local color, affectionately referred to as “F.U.Bob.” Apparently, he had a habit of yelling obscenities, and making rather rude gestures to passersby. I was never privileged to such spectacle, having heard about it from my mother and extended family.
To be honest, I feel a little cheated. Wood was such a talented artist and local figure, and I never knew. I waited for the bus with this guy, and all the while I could have been discussing things like crossing traditional art with digital or incorporating philosophy into art. I guess I never will.
Reale Media 