Photographer

published in 2000. Cohen, a psychiatrist, was the first director of the Center for Aging, Health and Humanities at George Washington University and acting director of the National Institute on Aging from 1991 to 1993.

In 2006, Cohen published findings from the Creativity and Aging Study, conducted in San Francisco; Brooklyn, N.Y.; and the Washington, D.C., area. Two groups of older adults were studied: those who participated weekly in arts programs led by professionals and people who went about their usual business. Those in the first group saw doctors less often, used less medication,

were more active, and had better physical and mental health overall, the study found.

For Clarke, “perspective” and “acceptance of my body as it is” have been benefits of her 12-year project. As a young and middle-aged woman, she said, she was “obsessed” with and anxious about her appearance.

“Now, I think there’s a

COURTESY OF MARNA CLARKE Marna Clarke, who is documenting her aging, says she went to the beach this summer to make herself “one with the world.” This photo “speaks of loss and what I’m going through,” she says.