About
My name is Arthur Mednick. I live in Brooklyn, NY. I am a sculptor, a writer and a Dockbuilder. I am married to the woman I always wanted. We have three boys on purpose, two dogs by mistake and a small row house halfway between the park and the cemetery. I began writing about my sculpture as a way of better understanding the work. The more I wrote the more I wanted to write. These essays are about places, the people in those places, the objects surrounding those people and the forces at work that connect the parts.
The essays that begin with “Hey Drew ” are, not surprisingly, written for my cousin Drew. The twist here is that Drew has been in a coma since the day he entered the hospital on July 4th 2011. Drew’s condition is updated on a site called caringbridge.com. On that site there is a Guestbook where visitors can leave well wishes. Apparently well wishes are confined to putting you in someone else’s prayers and sending good energy. There is only so much of that language a person can tolerate. I figured to raise the content bar a bit and also provide the family with a little something to read to Drew from a fellow family member. These things tend to take on a life of their own and the following stories are the result.
Post Script:
Drew did eventually die, after 310 days in a coma, on the 8th of May, 2012. I can’t think of a reason I shouldn’t continue to write to him.
Themes and Deviations 
I don’t know if it’s something you’d be interested in, but I’m an editor at IndieInk.org and we are always looking for new people to participate in our weekly writing challenges. You have such a great voice and writing style that I think you’d be a good fit over there. If you’re interested, check the site out and sign up for the challenge.
I hope you continue this blog because this is some of the best writing I’ve read in a long time.
i’ll definitely check out your site. thanks for stopping by. more to come.
I eagerly await another story! These are so brilliant, in so many ways. Thank you and keep them coming!!!
I told you somebody would like your stuff guess who
I always loved the Hotte shoppe We use to go on fridays nites to flirt with boys
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Are you the son of Seymour Mednick, the photographer?
Yes. Did you know him?
Yes, but not directly. Can you send me an e-mail at BKrell@SWArchitects.com so I can discuss with you?
What is this in reference to?
Sorry, don’t mean to be so cryptic. The short version is licensing permissions over a photo of your Dad’s. But, the background about how I knew about the photo is personal. Don’t want that spread all over the internet. If you like, just tell me about who has licensing permission over the photos of your Dad’s photos. Thanks. Bruce
According to the Philadelphia Museum, the “estate” has the publication rights. Is that you? Can you send me an e-mail telling me who to contact for permission to use one of his photos?
Hey Bruce,
The estate hasn’t been catalogued so ordinarily what would happen is that we would get a request for a particular photo and under what circumstances it is to be used. Let’s say it’s for a book about the mafia to be published by Random House and that the image requested originally appeared say on a Time magazine cover of a certain date. That helps us vet the usage and track down the original image. If, on the other hand, you are looking for an individual, say a CEO who worked for Smith Kline, a year and name might suffice though it’s a long shot. Models however are a different story. Model names were rarely recorded and only then when attached to billing information and not on the job folder itself. Naturally all billing was disposed of in an effort to clean up the studio after my father’s death. I will be cataloguing the estate as a side project over the next several years. We are talking about well over 50 years of photographs so unless you can provide a project description along with very specific information I’m afraid we will not be able to help you.
Thanks,
Arthur
OK, so you are the right person. I have a specific photo, and where it was originally used, not totally sure about where it would be used by me. Need to convey some personal info that I do NOT want on the web to help you understand. I may eventually put the info on the web but not ready to do so in this forum. I can e-mail you a copy of the photo which I digitized. Would prefer a cleaner digitized copy. Could we please take this off line? Would appreciate an e-mail to discuss with you.
Gotta say you’re no less cryptic but themesanddeviations@gmail.com