I’m an architect/artist/designer that wouldn’t sleep if my body would let me. I keep myself busy outside my architectural career by painting, entering architectural competitions and art in general.  I’m originally from Minneapolis, but I moved to Chicago and now to Brooklyn where I have lived since 2006.  Brooklyn is the creative heartbeat of NYC and it is a place that I am forever connected.  My son was born in Brooklyn.

I started a t-shirt line called RA-NYC in 2008.  RA (Ronin Art)-NYC creates graphic designs for urban apparel, inspired by urban and creative culture.

RA is…..unprepared, rough, makeshift. Raw, crude, rude refer to something not in a finished or highly refined state…….not yet changed by a process, by manufacture, or by preparation for consumption.

The first question that a person has when they come across anything that contains my pen name, Ronin, the question is always; “what does Ronin mean?” or “why Ronin?”.

I admit, after watching a spy movie featuring Robert DeNiro, I became interested in the idea of Ronin. FYI, Robert DeNiro abilities as an actor have no influence on me taking on that name to represent my work.

What Ronin DOESN’T mean…………

I want my work to stand for itself. So, I gave my work its own name. I want to produce work and have my private life as well. When you look at anything that I have created, it doesn’t represent me. There are bits and pieces of my life, but it does not represent me.

What Ronin means……………

“A ronin (浪人, rōnin?) was a samurai with no lord or master during the feudal period (1185–1868) of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the ruin or fall of his master (as in the case of death in a war), or after the loss of his master’s favor or privilege.”

“The word rōnin literally means “drifting person”. The term originated in the Nara and Heian periods, when it referred to a serf who had fled or deserted his master’s land. It then came to be used for a samurai who had lost his master.”

“According to the Bushido Shoshinshu (the Code of the Samurai), a samurai was supposed to commit oibara seppuku (also “hara kiri” – ritual suicide) upon the loss of his master. One who chose to not honor the code was “on his own” and was meant to suffer great shame. The undesirability of ronin status was mainly a discrimination imposed by other samurai and by the daimyo (the feudal lords).”

What Ronin means to me……..

There are many ways that I identify with the idea, but there is a definite sense of isolation that I can relate to (which shows up in some of my work). Also, there is a defiance or rebellion that I appreciate. For me, wandering and photography are intertwined and it is something that I find cathartic.

I have this tattooed on my shoulder and obviously it has more personal meanings that do not relate to my artwork, but that’s for another page.