Jill Brody
Artist Statement
I grew up in what was then the largest metropolitan area in the world—New York City—one of 8 million. Plus I lived in a neighborhood where many families had 6, 7 or even 10 children. So I grew up surrounded by people, even though I was an only child. I think that that combination of being with people, but being also essentially alone, made me a good observer from an early age.
Also, I went to a school that taught everything through the process of art making, and also listening—we didn’t have text books, but learned from our teacher telling us either a story or a set of facts, which we then wrote about in our own words in what were called “good books,” which we also illustrated. Thus I was immersed in the artistic process from the time I was in kindergarten, as well as the listening and telling back of whatever I was learning. All of which added, I’m sure, to my love of storytelling. The reason I use a camera now, instead of painting or drawing, for instance, is that I have learning disabilities that make it difficult for me to translate through my hand what comes to me through my eye. I like to tell people that I’m like a person who can’t walk, being given the gift of a wheel chair—my camera has made me mobile.
It has allowed me to be the artist I always knew I was, and to bring you all along on my journey of seeing and meaning making.