[1] At the age of 15 he was a recognized musical prodigy and studied under Andrés Segovia, the virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist.
[1] At the age of sixteen he gave a series of concerts as a part of the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City.
At this point much of his work was done with the medium of aluminum in a method similar to that of Frank Stella, although Croak is believed to have developed his personal technique himself.
[1] According to the artist, the material was developed out of necessity, stating that in 1985, "I wanted to cast a full-size self–portrait, but I couldn't afford bronze, so I walked down the street to an empty lot, dug up dirt, put it in a wheelbarrow, took it home, mixed it with glue, and pressed it into the plaster mold.
An additional essay was published in the book Afterwords, a compilation put together by Salon.com featuring the works of its contributors, which Croak has been one on occasion.
[8] He is also an online contributor and conference participant to the non-profit intellectual organization Edge.org,[9] the membership of which is composed of highly accomplished thinkers in both the arts and sciences from different corners of the world.
[11] According to art critic Carlos Suarez de Jesus, themes involved in Croak's work often include death, social instability, and the finite nature of human life.
[20] Eighth, once set, the pieces of the sculpture are then reassembled and glued together with the same dirt and binder mixture with which they were created.