Hello everyone,

I feel that this edition of “Featured Blogger” is somewhat special because we are meeting Rob from “Art by Rob Goldstein” who is raising awareness of mental illnesses, a plight that a lot are faced with that most of us may be unfamiliar with, at least for now. Rob is teaching us by bringing together his art and poetry and I am really happy to share his Q&As with you.

LaChouett: Your art is very personal and I want to first of all thank you for sharing your journey through illness with us in such an intimate manner. Although it may be obvious to most, I would like to ask why you chose to share this journey?

Rob: According to the Kim Foundation roughly 57.7 million people have a diagnosable mental illness. If half that number are homeless then our nation has condemned 25 million of its citizens to a slow and agonizing death on our streets.
There are two criteria that make this a crime against humanity:
1. The United States is the richest nation in recorded history and
2. We know how to fix it and won’t.
My sense of duty motivates my work. Call it selfish compassion. When I help to make the world a better
place I make it better for me.

LaChouett: When I first came across your blog, the beauty of the art was striking (and still is), and only then did I read the accompanying poetry. How did you come up with this concept?

Rob: Graphic novels and animated film, especially the “Dark Knight.”

LaChouett: When you work on a piece, does it come to you already fully formed in your mind or do you have to work through it like putting a puzzle together? And which do you love more, the writing or the art?

Rob:Everything I post is the result of a collaboration between two or more of my alternates.
One or more make an image, another writes the poem or an essay. I collate the material and edit
the writing.

LaChouett: One word to sum you up?

Rob: Faith.

LaChouett: Will we have the opportunity to see your art and poetry as collected pieces in a book? And what was your favorite story as a child?

Rob: I don’t know. Perhaps a book. I have years of writing and multiple gigabytes of material
so there is enough for a book.
My favorite story as a child was “Dracula”. A parasitic aristocrat who feeds on the middle and lower classes. Great read!

Thank you Rob,

If you want to learn more about Rob’s work please take the time to browse through the following posts:

LaChouett