On seeing, A Journal. #397

Growing Up: Jackson Nazario

September 18, 2020

10 years and 25 years

I have studied over 200 children from childhood into their 20’s some starting when they were newborns, and others when they had learned to read and write, making annual studio portraits and asking them to write answers to a series of questions, a kind of diary about their lives, their feelings, their hopes, their regrets.

This young man, gentle, mindful and determined was always a joy to have when he came to the studio. I felt a special friendship with him.

9 years

10 years

11 years

12 years

13 years

14 years

15 years

16 years

17 years

19 years

20 years

23 years

25 years

I hope Jackson will return in a few years and we’ll see how his dreams and aspirations have been fulfilled.

I am interested in everything about human development, fascinated by maturation, growth, emotional, educational and physical development.

A few of the boys were privileged, as is Jackson, with perfect musculoskeletal anatomy throughout.

This exploration has been a major 30 year odyssey, an adventure that has yielded riches beyond my initial imagining.

Permission was signed by the parents of each and every child every year, and by the participants themselves once they turned 18. In addition, we have now sent copies of all of their writings and edited photographs to the participants for whom I have finished all my editing and have received full permission from that group to publish and post.