Nasher Sculpture Center Announces Art and Health Public Discussion Series
Series of talks, presented in partnership with the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History at The University of Texas at Dallas and area medical centers, will consider the ways artists work with and through mental and physical challenges
DALLAS, Texas (October 1, 2019) – The Nasher Sculpture Center announces a new series of public talks dedicated to the relationship between health issues and the arts, presented in partnership with the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History at The University of Texas at Dallas, The Center for Brain Health at The University of Texas at Dallas, Baylor University Medical Center, part of Baylor Scott & White Health, and UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute.
This series presents the stories of artists who creatively respond to mental and physical health issues through their artwork. By creating dialogue between experts in the discipline of art and those in the field of medicine and health, these programs offer the opportunity to better understand the mind, the body and the resilience of people facing incredible challenges.
The series was developed in collaboration with Bonnie Pitman, Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History, and Director of Art/Brain Innovations at the Center for Brain Health at The University of Texas at Dallas.
“I believe deeply that art elevates the spirit and affirms life and health,” says Pitman. “Since 2008 I have committed myself to expanding engagement with the power of art to promote healing at both a personal and professional level.
Over the past eleven years of my own struggles with illness, I have followed my passion to research and read about the power of art to nourish the soul, activate the body, and restore health.
I have discovered that this story is dramatically told by artists who have experienced health challenges and, in turn, represent these challenges in the works of art that they create. I wanted to share the experience of these two cultures, medicine and art, and examine the ways artists have responded.”
Admission to the lectures is $10 and is free for Nasher Members and students. To register, please visit:
Art and the Brain / October 16 / 7 p.m.
What is the role of art in addressing how a person manages illness? Develop your understanding of how the brain learns, how we create memories and how creativity contributes to healing, and test your own observation skills by actively looking at sculpture in the Nasher Collection.
Presenters
James Fleshman, MD, FASCRS, FACS
Sparkman Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery, Baylor University Medical Center a part of Baylor Scott & White Health.
Daniel Krawczyk , Ph.D.
Deputy Director, Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas
Bonnie Pitman
Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History, and Director of Art/Brain Innovations, Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas
Reaching New Heights: Overcoming Physical Limitations / October 30 / 7 p.m.
Learn how artists like Henri Matisse and Mark di Suvero reinvented themselves when faced with life-altering physical challenges and consider how hospitals are creating new opportunities for artists to contribute to the healing environment.
Presenters
Kathleen Bell, M.D.
Chair, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at UT Southwestern Medical Center and O’Donnell Brain Institute member
Sandi Chapman, PhD
Founder and Chief Director, Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas
Jed Morse
Chief Curator, Nasher Sculpture Center
Bonnie Pitman
Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History, and Director of Art/Brain Innovations, Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas
John Pomara
Artist and Professor of Visual Art, The University of Texas at Dallas
The Power of Art: Creating through Disorders of the Mind / November 6 / 7 p.m.
Explore the late works of Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Willem de Kooning, Yayoi Kusama, and Isa Genzken, among others, who remained—and remain—prolific creators of art while experiencing different forms of mental illnesses.
Find out how other artists have coped with mental illness through their work and consider the benefits of arts programs that serve patients with similar challenges.
Presenters
Leigh A. Arnold, Ph.D.
Associate Curator, Nasher Sculpture Center
Mark Goldberg, M.D.
Professor, Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, Associate Vice President of Institutional Advancement at UT Southwestern Medical Center and O’Donnell Brain Institute member
Ann Marie Warren, Ph.D., ABPP
Co-Director of Trauma Research at the Level I Trauma Center at Baylor University Medical Center, at Baylor Scott & White Health
Bonnie Pitman
Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History, and Director of Art/Brain Innovations, Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas
Seeing with the Brain: Artists and Visual Impairment / November 13 / 7 p.m.
Discover how artists like Claude Monet and Georgia O’Keeffe responded to a loss of sight and hear firsthand from a contemporary artist on how visual impairment affects his work. Also, develop an understanding of the medical issues faced by artists with eye diseases and learn how multi-sensory encounters with art can enrich the experiences of both sighted and non-sighted learners.
Presenters
Catherine Craft, Ph.D.
Curator, Nasher Sculpture Center
Stephen Lapthisophon
Artist and Educator
Niraj Rama Nathan, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology at UT Southwestern Medical Center
Bonnie Pitman
Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History, and Director of Art/Brain Innovations, Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas
Partners
Baylor University Medical Center, part of Baylor Scott & White Health
Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas
Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History at The University of Texas at Dallas
UT Southwestern Medical Center/Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute
Sponsor
The Art and Health Series is made possible through the generosity of The Donna Wilhelm Family Fund.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David
