Art, Well-being and Medicine at the Barnes Foundation
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents The Intersection of Science, Medicine, and Art On a recent Wednesday afternoon, a pair of first-year students from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine stood in front of one of Henri Rousseau’s dreamlike, allegorical portrait paintings in gallery 19 at the Barnes Foundation. Provided with a detailed exercise […]
Outside the Frame: Thinking Beyond the Visible in Medical Education
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Medical school can install students in locales both familiar and unfamiliar: the darkened hush of a lecture hall, the sheeted tables of an anatomy lab, the beeping monitors crowding an ICU. But students may now also find themselves before a Pollock or a Kahlo, contemplating art in the […]
Horace Pippin: Art, War, and Rehabilitation
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Introduction Horace Pippin began creating art as a hobby in his childhood; this practice later served as an important force in both his physical and mental-health rehabilitation. This article discusses how Pippin’s paintings reflect a range of his experiences and demonstrate the power of art as a form […]
Ease in Motion: Rehabilitation Inspired by Science, Guided by Art
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Although I am a formally-trained developmental biologist and scientific researcher, I am also an avid appreciator, and sometimes practitioner, of visual art. My current work leverages the overlap between science and art to empower trainees from underrepresented backgrounds in their fields. This professional interest grew from my graduate […]
Viral Imaginations: Healing Through Pandemic Narratives
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Preserving and documenting the lived, pandemic experiences of Pennsylvanians through visual art and creative writing, the Viral Imaginations: COVID-19 project functions as both a historic archive and a reflective, healing resource. Linking the fields of art, health humanities, and bioethics, this interdisciplinary endeavor offers a template for artistic […]
Art History as a Resource for Understanding Social Bias in Disability
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Training guidelines for rehabilitation disciplines are generally based on medical models that focus on acquisition of knowledge (eg, anatomy, diagnoses, policies) and skills (eg, discipline-specific interventions) related to different disability diagnoses. However, there are mounting calls to expand the sensitivity of rehabilitation professionals to the personal experiences of, […]
How Art Embodies Story: An Exploration of Basquiat Through a Physically Integrated Dance Performance
Melissa McCune reports on a recent dance project of Full Radius Dance—a company that integrates disabled and non-disabled dancers—which interpreted the works of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. As a child, Basquiat experienced a debilitating injury that greatly influenced his art. Encountering groundbreaking works such as these, McCune explains, can help clinicians look beyond basic anatomy to see the “layered nature” of pain and disability.
Reviving and Reflecting on “Portrait of Spirit: One Story at a Time”
Both a book and an exhibit, Portrait of Spirit: One Story at a Time by Billy Howard and Maggie Holtzberg offers new perspectives while challenging the way we view the lived disability experience. Using stunning photographs and beautifully written narratives from Portrait of Spirit, this piece serves as an ode to the groundbreaking stories that started it all while advocating for continued societal change for people living with disabilities.
Special Call for Submissions
The Historical Perspectives in Art Section is open to scholars and clinicians who are interested in researching art history as it broadly relates to rehabilitation medicine. We hope that you will reflect on your experiences in the humanities of rehabilitation and consider submitting a piece to our journal.
Historical Perspectives in Art: The Value of Art History in a Pandemic: Teaching as a Healing Force
In this powerful reflection, Siobhan Conaty shows how art history as a health humanities discipline can provide two uniquely different (yet equally important) teaching methods for students reckoning with a health crisis. One negative (a critical reading of graphic pandemic images) and one positive (looking to art as a powerful healing instrument), each serves an important purpose. Conaty details the positive approach she recently chose for her students — emphasizing art as a healing force.
