06 June 2016
An unusual combination yet they have great chemistry. Here, "they" refers to art and medicine. What happens when medicine encounters art ? What happens when you treat a hospital as a gallery and display art ? This is what you think about in general when you enter University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinic. This institution from the small city of Iowa would attract any person for it's innovative installation of 'Project Art' (as they call) in a medical vicinity. Their goal is to attract visitors and entertain the patients who can request for works of their interest to be hung in their rooms. In other words this projects main goal to create an emotional scenario which prevents loneliness or depression. As a student who studied art therapy, I do know the impact any form of art can create on a person's heart. I have encountered tears while painting or reading poetry. This just meant that emotions are natural and it is better to release and experience them than suppress them to heart ( act cool and dwell into depression) .
The institution as I entered opened to a vibrant and reflecting art form of glasses shaped and painted as butterflies installed over the ceiling. This is Susan White's work which cannot be left unseen due to it's vibrant colors that create thinking right from your eyes. As we move towards the hall way, we see our entire path occupied with artworks. From Joel Shapiro's etching to Byron Burford oil on canvas, we see diverse mediums and great forms. I was definitely attracted to Burford's Performance and Props which was an unusual yet a very entertaining sight on the walls of a hospital. The strange visual and quirky mixture of colors makes the viewer think. For instance, an artist like me visiting the hospital started thinking on the statement the artwork made depending on where it's installed. On the other hand, a visitor who's a non-artist may react based on his emotions and background. Well my father reacted saying ' Why is this one here and how did it even get famous? Coz I don't understand a thing!'. However, I wouldn't say this is the case to everyone. The patients have reacted interestingly. Some of them found the painting amicable and it helped them to not feel lonely. Some I suspect may have felt disturbed. This is just tells us we live in a variety world and as an artist I have developed to understand the mixed reactions and create my own opinions.
On further exploration I encountered Chuck Richard's Tireswings. This was an obvious but a smart decision to entertain the children in the building. However, when there was chuckles and joy in on painting, there was also sorrow and realizations in another. An example is Jane Gilmore's The Windows Project. This 2-d piece of art comprises a series of letters inscribed on a metal plate which reads the letters written by sick children coming to the hospital. These letters are so strong with their clear depiction go the struggle these kids go through. I found this piece really painful yet beautiful due to it's honest portrayal of their feelings.
It was a journey in these halls of the hospital . Who would have imagined an artful journey through the walls of a medical institute! I could hear laughs and cries, commotion and silence while observing the art, a very different experience from how it would be if this were a gallery.
The institution as I entered opened to a vibrant and reflecting art form of glasses shaped and painted as butterflies installed over the ceiling. This is Susan White's work which cannot be left unseen due to it's vibrant colors that create thinking right from your eyes. As we move towards the hall way, we see our entire path occupied with artworks. From Joel Shapiro's etching to Byron Burford oil on canvas, we see diverse mediums and great forms. I was definitely attracted to Burford's Performance and Props which was an unusual yet a very entertaining sight on the walls of a hospital. The strange visual and quirky mixture of colors makes the viewer think. For instance, an artist like me visiting the hospital started thinking on the statement the artwork made depending on where it's installed. On the other hand, a visitor who's a non-artist may react based on his emotions and background. Well my father reacted saying ' Why is this one here and how did it even get famous? Coz I don't understand a thing!'. However, I wouldn't say this is the case to everyone. The patients have reacted interestingly. Some of them found the painting amicable and it helped them to not feel lonely. Some I suspect may have felt disturbed. This is just tells us we live in a variety world and as an artist I have developed to understand the mixed reactions and create my own opinions.
On further exploration I encountered Chuck Richard's Tireswings. This was an obvious but a smart decision to entertain the children in the building. However, when there was chuckles and joy in on painting, there was also sorrow and realizations in another. An example is Jane Gilmore's The Windows Project. This 2-d piece of art comprises a series of letters inscribed on a metal plate which reads the letters written by sick children coming to the hospital. These letters are so strong with their clear depiction go the struggle these kids go through. I found this piece really painful yet beautiful due to it's honest portrayal of their feelings.
It was a journey in these halls of the hospital . Who would have imagined an artful journey through the walls of a medical institute! I could hear laughs and cries, commotion and silence while observing the art, a very different experience from how it would be if this were a gallery.
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