Seventy-Five: Connectivity through the Ages

Seventy-Five is a little book with big intentions.

There's a playfulness and wonderment within its pages, encouraging us to find joy in ordinary things in everyday life. We are reminded of our eternal desire for love and tenderness. Created with love and respect, the book often layers deeper meaning to the photographs.

Wild and Joseph invested their lives in observing and learning from people, places, and things. Recognizing a profound decline of empathy in our society prompted the artists to create Seventy-Five, Connectivity through the Ages. A picture book with descriptive verse encourages readers to embrace and connect with each other and their surroundings in a more meaningful way.

A message from Terry Wild-

Well, becoming seventy-five years old was, for some reason, a revelation. It crept up on me. It was challenging to my post-polio syndrome mobility and creative intuition. The desire to be ¿out and about" was diminishing. ¿In and around" was manageable. Seventy-five-I have reached a time of transition between birth and death.

Then, unexpectedly, Lori Joseph called me to wish me a happy birthday. Lori is a work associate, friend, and writer/poet. She suggested we generate a project together-a picture a day up to seventy-five for which she would create a poetic union. Despite physical limitations, the idea ignited acceptance in me.

As long as I can remember, the visual world has been my teacher. People, places, and things have become my life observations. Technology has developed to the point at which my iPhone is a simple tool to qualitatively harvest all that reveals itself. At seventy-five years of age, the tendency is to deal with each day as different and potentially your last. As a result, the commonplace can become complex and symbolic. Pictures can become much more than what they appear to be.

Accompanied with metaphorical expressions, the combination can transport the viewer to a higher level of understanding.

With our exchange, Lori has somehow been able to compose words that bring associative insight to each image. Her unique perceptions helped me find deeper meaning with each image. She confirmed and renewed my belief that images can help us have reflections about a more attentive world.

Lori's inspired perceptions have brought this project to wonderful heights.

Terry Wild