Early Life, Family and Training Joel Janowitz was born in 1945 in Newark, New Jersey. He grew up in East Paterson, New Jersey, where his father, Benjamin, owned Ben’s Playland. The store sold toys and playground equipment. As a child, Janowitz spent time in the shop, clandestinely examining the items among the aisles. This early exposure to objects and structures coincided with his first steps into art through after-school classes focu…