Man with Food for Cow, Muguga, Kenya, 1982

22” x 28”
archival inkjet print
Courtesy of the Artist

After walking throughout the Kenyan upcountry all morning I had returned to the farm I was visiting near Muguga.  My hosts had prepared for me a cup of tea and a slice of bread with fresh butter. While I was resting, one of the young neighbors had run up the lane and was causing a commotion near front gate. The household erupted. Someone brought my satchel of film and directed me to secure my camera. I was escorted posthaste across the lawn through the gates and down the lane toward the road.   “What is happening?” I asked, as I trotted along the road.  “Someone needs a photograph!” I was told.  There at the end of the lane was an elderly gentleman. He was stooped over balancing the weight of a preponderance of branches upon his back.  He was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. The branches were shaking and quivering. I set the camera and asked that he please hold still. I focused on his one good eye.  In a few minutes I gave him the portrait he requested to take home with him.

About the Artist