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Diagnosed with a perceptual disability as
an adult, James says he always knew he saw the world differently,
even as a young child. While in elementary school, he was
branded a "slow reader" and taunted by his classmates.
James learned about RFB&D while attending Keene State
College in New Hampshire, where he studied psychology. With
RFB&D's help, he graduated in 2002 with a 4.0 grade-point
average and a degree in psychobiology.
"RFB&D always had the books I needed.
I studied by listening…while driving in my car. Some
of the [medical] terminology is very difficult, so listening
to it over and over again was very helpful."
As a young, struggling artist in New York,
James supported himself as a distributor for the now-defunct
SoHo Weekly News and Andy Warhol's Interview magazine. He
is perhaps best-known for his "Night/Light" lightwork,
in which the lighting in buildings across the New York City
skyline was coordinated for an artistic display. The first
edition, in 1976, celebrated the city's bicentennial Independence
Day. The second, three years later, celebrated the 100th
anniversary of the light bulb.
After the September 11, 2001, attacks, James
volunteered at Ground Zero and coordinated a poetry and
light tribute the following year. Entitled "Starry
Night," the tribute featured more than 2,800 strobe
lights - one for each victim from the World Trade Center
- randomly twinkling from the windows of Battery Park's
high rise buildings. At that time, James also founded the
nonprofit Night/Light Fund, which provides emergency relief
to creative people in the United States. Most recently,
his fund helped the creative community of New Orleans following
the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
James has also donated his artwork for auction
to help troubled teens. Profits from the sale of his art
have supported the Max's Kansas City Project's program "Damage
Control," an alcohol and drug prevention program for
teens. James has joined other members of the creative community,
such as artists Peter Max and Robert Rauschenberg, composer
Philip Glass, photographer Bob Gruen, and musicians Billy
Idol and Blondie in their effort to stop alcohol and drug
abuse.
As he looks to the future, James says his
love of the creative process, and how it can benefit others
less fortunate, will continue to drive everything he does.
He also plans to share his art and poetry in more classrooms,
where some students are facing the same roadblocks to learning
that he once did. James is grateful to RFB&D for helping
him when he needed it most.
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