STUART PERLMAN, PhD
Ronald was born in Alabama in an era where “KKK lynchings of blacks was not uncommon.” He recalls that it was “very scary to be black” at that time and “there was a lot of racism.”
Ronald’s parents taught him“ right from wrong. ”Though they were very poor, they always made sure there was food on the table. But there was violence in the family. Ronald did well in school, where he played many different sports, and earned his GED. To help make ends meet, he worked as a dishwasher at age 15.
At the age of 19, Ronald joined the armed services and went to Vietnam. He “jumped out of planes into combat” and “watched people getting killed” all around him. He eventually went AWOL and was dishonorably discharged. When he came back from Vietnam it was very hard to get work.
Ronald, 66
(Oils on Canvas, 5’ x 4’)
Ronald has been homeless most of the time since then. He gets no veteran’s benefits, though he does get Social Security assistance given his age. Ronald cannot understand how this country can allow him and so many others to be homeless.
For 40 years, Stuart Perlman has been a psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice in West Los Angeles. Also, as a portrait painter, in his current project of 12 years, he illuminates the faces of the homeless, along with their humanity and pain. Stuart has painted over 250 individuals. He also has collected their histories, art and music. This project has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Fine Art Connoisseur magazine, Guardian of London, Vanity Fair Italia, the Taipei Times and the Jewish Journal. Stuart has had several exhibitions where over 250,000 people have seen his art. The National Association for Advancement of Psychoanalysis nominated Stuart’s paintings for “Best Art of the Year Award”, and his documentary Struggle in Paradise, based on this project and the lives of these homeless people, won the “Best Movie of the Year Award.” Stuart was LACPA’s “2016 Distinguished Social Justice Award” winner and been honored by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for his work. Many portraits are available on Amazon in his book, Struggle in Paradise.