Presenter Information

Alaina MannFollow

Advisor Information

Mark Gilbert

Location

MBSC Dodge Room 302A - U

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Start Date

4-3-2022 10:45 AM

End Date

4-3-2022 12:00 PM

Abstract

Many people think that art and science do not overlap, especially in an educational sense. As someone who is both a biology and studio art major, I wanted to explore this mentality. This past semester I dived into a project to prove just how much these subjects can work together to expand our understanding of how art can be used for research purposes in a medical setting. With support from my Life Drawing professor, I was able to create multiple drawings from life and from photographs centered around my grandmother's Alzheimer’s Disease during my frequent visits to her nursing home. I was even able to get my grandma to complete a couple quick drawings for me to see how her thought process with dementia could be reflected visually. As healthcare starts to seek insight into human illnesses, diseases, perception, and suffering from a non-science perspective (history, art, ethics, anthropology, etc.) within the growing field of medical humanities, I feel that the use of art as research will continue to grow in relevancy. My presentation, Perishing Personhood, further explains how my perspective as a healthcare worker, family member, artist, and caregiver has helped me better understand what my grandma is experiencing with her diagnosis. As I explore how art research allows medical providers and family to better understand what a patient is going through, I hope that the audience will be able to better grasp the growing need for our society to adopt art research as legitimate source of information.

Additional Information (Optional)

I do have an in depth journal that I kept up to date throughout this project that I would be more than happy to upload as well!

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COinS
 
Mar 4th, 10:45 AM Mar 4th, 12:00 PM

Perishing Personhood

MBSC Dodge Room 302A - U

Many people think that art and science do not overlap, especially in an educational sense. As someone who is both a biology and studio art major, I wanted to explore this mentality. This past semester I dived into a project to prove just how much these subjects can work together to expand our understanding of how art can be used for research purposes in a medical setting. With support from my Life Drawing professor, I was able to create multiple drawings from life and from photographs centered around my grandmother's Alzheimer’s Disease during my frequent visits to her nursing home. I was even able to get my grandma to complete a couple quick drawings for me to see how her thought process with dementia could be reflected visually. As healthcare starts to seek insight into human illnesses, diseases, perception, and suffering from a non-science perspective (history, art, ethics, anthropology, etc.) within the growing field of medical humanities, I feel that the use of art as research will continue to grow in relevancy. My presentation, Perishing Personhood, further explains how my perspective as a healthcare worker, family member, artist, and caregiver has helped me better understand what my grandma is experiencing with her diagnosis. As I explore how art research allows medical providers and family to better understand what a patient is going through, I hope that the audience will be able to better grasp the growing need for our society to adopt art research as legitimate source of information.