Invented Symbols is a memoir of the artist's education in art and aesthetics, beginning with his parents - Russian émigrés involved in theatre - to his choice of a high school because it offered the possibility of drawing from antique casts, to his acceptance at the Cooper Union, to his decision to become a fine artist, and beyond. Edited by the artist's son from tape recordings the artist made by himself, this collection of autobiographical passages is unique in that it is not based on interviews but is rather a text composed by the artist in his natural voice, giving readers an unprecedented insight into his work, his process, and the challenges of he faced.