This is my mother and I on my birthday in 1996. I truly love my mom. She been there for me my whole life. I guess I’m a momma momma boy but I’m cool with that. When I was young I went everywhere with her. Saw new places. She got me whatever I wanted. I think that might of been a bad thing. Being spoiled. Now I don’t really ask for anything because she was there for me. She an amazing mom and I wouldn’t change that for the world. 

My gorgeous mom! 

A shadow of her former self

My dear mum, a survivor of cancer has spent the last couple of years battling chronic osteo-arthritis. First she had a new shoulder joint, then both hips replaced, now one of her knees is causing problems.

She is one of the strongest people/women I know but the last couple of years have ground her down and had a big, detrimental impact on her life and personality. To top things off she lost her last remaining sister to blood cancer at the beginning of the year.

I wish there was something I could do to relieve her pain, for now all I can offer is my unconditional love for such a wonderful caring mother.

(Pic taken on iPhone 4S and processed in the Afterlight app - there are many more images of my mum here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stumacher/ )

this world traveling mom goes all over the world serving the poor & needy (moving to morocco this year) and helping those in need whilst raising three of her own beautiful children

This is my mom with my brother on the day of his junior prom. My mom and I were thrilled to be part of this day with my brother because we both never went to junior prom. But this isn’t about me and my story, this is about my mom. You see, my mom during her high school years couldn’t go because she had to help my grandma and my great-grandma with household expenses. They just came to the United States from Vietnam, and had to work. My mom settled for a dishwashing job because she didn’t know enough English to serve. I think that’s very admirable. She sacrificed so much just to provide others’ the most happiness she can give. Furthermore, she took care of my aunt and was always there for her. My aunt was never in the best shape to take care of herself, so my mom took out her social time just to be with my aunt. It made me realize how completely lucky I am to not have that kind of responsibility during my youth. I was able to live a great childhood, but my mom had to be an adult as a child. Day to day, I always think how blessed I am to have such a great mom. I’m grateful for her amazing cooking skills which I hope to pick up. I’m amazed at her gardening skills. She has taught me much patience with that. And most importantly, I’m lucky and super blessed to have this love from her. This sacrifice she gave us is to have the life and opportunities she never had. This picture wasn’t her being jealous or sad that she never got to live that life. This picture is about my amazing mom smiling at how happy my brother is that he got to go to prom. Us three siblings are very blessed, lucky, and happy to have a mom like ours. We couldn’t have asked for anyone better. :)

My better half. The most important person in my life. I love her so much.

Big glasses, big smile, big love.  My wife and 2 sons with my mother in the background.  My boys are so lucky to have such a loving mother.  Look at that smile.

My beautiful mom was posing for me, practicing photoshootin’ and posing. Thank you mommy. :*

My Mother is a single mom, she is the best because she has taught my sisters and I great values in life! She loves God. 

My Mom can often be scatter-brained, but sometimes she gives off this aura of grace and elegance. I’m glad I managed to capture it; there aren’t enough photos of her like that.

On the right side is my mum and on the left side, it’s me. We are in our garden and my dad took this photo. We often argue because of stupid things but I think when I am a little older or when I have children on my own, I’m going to realize her effort. ♥

Two most important person in my life. I will love them forever! 

My mother (and father) was one of my closet friends. My father had many Heart Attacks over the years and survived them all. Here is photo of his first heart attack. He was out of bed in a few days and was running around the house like a mad crazy Swede. My mother wanted to buy my father a balloon that said ‘Get Well’. Instead she bought a balloon that said ‘Happy Fathers Day’. My mother was blind. She also, like to play Video Games. I have done whole series of parents and have over 1000’s photos of them. www.knuthybinette.com

Here is my Artist statement of them two:

When I moved to the United States from Sweden at age eight, I was immediately thrown into a classroom and expected to learn English on my own.  Television served as my after-school tutorial, and my English teachers were Fonzie from Happy Days and Jim Henson’s Muppets.  The good news was that I gradually did learn English; the bad news was that some of the language I repeated from television landed me in the “timeout room.”

It was during those long hours spent in “timeout” that I was first exposed to the world of art.  Upon seeing the great masterpieces in art books from the school library, I immediately set out to imitate them.  I feverishly scribbled sketch after sketch, using my school handouts as drawing paper.  Unfortunately, some of the great works I mimicked were depictions of Greek mythology; when they were discovered, my teachers chastised me for drawing such explicit subject material.  More time in the timeout room for me.

Mischief and mythology combined to inspire me to do art.  Each photograph in this series illustrates a story from Swedish folklore or Norse mythology.  The subjects in the photographs are my parents.  When I was young, I used to act out Astrid Lindgren’s stories of Pippi Longstocking, and to this day my photographs reflect this acting out. Acting out may be a family tradition; through these photographs, I have learned that the games I played, my parents also played as children.  Expressing my personality is easy in this medium, even easier than speaking in my native Swedish tongue.

My relationship with my parents is a continuous journey.  They are my best friends.  They tolerate my mischief, act out my playful ideas, and allow me to photograph them in intimate situations.  The photos displayed are a part of my journey; it is through these photos that I began to learn more about my parents.  While their aging has become increasingly apparent to me, so have the similarities in our personalities.  We have grown older, but we have not grown apart; instead, we have grown closer together.  Each day, we become more mischievous with each other.  On a very personal level, I know my parents’ time with me is limited; I want to remember them, as they are part of me.  This project is therefore a family album, but one which expands the notion of how a family album is constructed.  By presenting my parents at play, I have preserved them and their mannerisms, similar to the Vikings who retold tales of the playful Norse pantheon to their family clans.

Since this, my aesthetic has not changed, only my philosophy.  I have gone from the simplistic desire to make everything pleasing to the desire to make everything personal.  This change has been unexpectedly complex.  By introducing the personal into my art, I have made myself the exhibit.  My choice of what to reveal and my motivations for this personal work become legitimate subjects for analysis.  My early mimicry of the visually pleasing was far easier; that was simply a matter of love.  Making art about family has forced me to examine my feelings and confront my previous limitations.  Also, it has made me aware that my parents are rapidly getting older; I now realize that the expiration date on their birth certificate is coming up very soon. I want to remember my parents as part of my genetic personality, and hope to remember them true through their play.

This is a picture of my grandfather and his youngest daughter, later my mother Rosemary. She was the youngest of four children, grew up in the Dust Bowl and Depression years and raised 5 kids mostly on her own. She was the best mom I know and I still miss her everyday. Love you Mom.