Joel
Witkin claims that his unique visual sensibilities began
to come about when, as a small child, he witnessed a terrible
car accident in front of his home, in which a little girl
was decapitated. He recalls her head rolling to his feet,
her dead eyes staring upward. This was the chilling feeling
and mood he tries to convey in each of his works. Joel-Peter
Witkin was born on Sept, 13, 1939, in Brooklyn, N.Y. His
father was Jewish and his mother was Roman Catholic.
His parents were unable to transcend their religious differences
and the two divorced when Witkin was young, the boy remaining
with his mother. He attended grammar school at Saint Cecelia's
in Brooklyn, and went on to Grover Cleveland High School.
He also cites family difficulties as an inspiration for
his work.
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