Health Care Fine Art

Essential New Book on Evidence-based Design

I've just finished reading Jain Malkin's new book: A Visual Reference for Evidence-Based Design.

This is a significant book that should be on the desk of everyone involved with HealthCare design.

It describes in clear language how and why you should use Evidence-based Design. Malkin digs in deep and presents the research behind Evidence-based Design (EBD).  Thankfully, she does this in a practical, non-threatening way. This is not a dry academic text but rather a useful handbook, a reference you will want to use frequently when working on projects.

Even more important, since Design is a visual process, the book is filled with hundreds of large full-color pictures that illustrate what she is writing about. These are not just pretty pictures; they frequently have lines drawn to point out key design features.

Summary:

• Outstanding. A "Must Buy"
• The most important book available on Evidence-based Design.

Pros:

• Clear, practical writing
• Visually rich

Cons:

• Not much about the use of Art in Healthcare (only two pages!)
• Expensive ($200)

Minor issues:
I found the way that the  illustrations were clustered after each chapter to be confusing. Why not put them in the body of the text?

I disagree with her emphasis on infection control. Not that it is not important, but I think she over-emphasizes it. In her interview she says: "Infection control is such a big issue today; it has to be the No. 1 thing that architects and designers understand."

Why isn't this book available on Amazon.com? The only way to purchase it now is through the Center for Health Design: click here

The May/June 2008 HC&O News just arrived with a splashy front cover featuring the book. They also have an interview with Jain about the book which you can read by clicking here

Featured Artist: Gregory Crewdson

Brief Encounter by Gregory Crewdson

I just finished another book by Gregory Crewdson: Beneath the Roses.

His dark mysterious photographs are a delight to contemplate. Certainly they would not be well accepted in a hospital setting, but in a collector's home these 4 x 5-foot prints would be stunning.

Many of the images are like the one shown above, often shot just past sunset in small towns. He uses very careful  lighting with multiple light sources: street lights, shop windows, headlights and faint illumination from the gloaming.

Like Jeff Wall he uses actors and elaborate sets to create the scenes he photographs. In the back of the book he has credits, just like in a movie, of the production crew and actors he works with. He often uses 50 or 60 people to help with each image!

I can't imagine working with a crew like that, it would drive me crazy. However, I have been toying with the idea of using actors in my landscapes. This idea came to me when I was reading about the history of landscape painting last year. Historically, landscape paintings almost always showed people. Landscape photographs typically do not show people; but they could...

Art and Fear

One of the books that helped me the most in Art School was: Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland.

This is a very quick read with some very practical advice for those who are contemplating getting serious about making art.

One idea that has stayed with me is Quantity leads to Quality. It has to do with the idea of avoiding the danger of perfectionism. Here is what they wrote:

The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. One side would be graded on quantity of work, the other side quality. The quantity group would be graded on the total weight of their work, whereas those in the quality group had to make only one work. When it came to grading time a curious fact emerged: the works that were of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity.

To require perfection is to invite paralysis.

Imperfections (or mistakes) are your guides- valuable, reliable, objective, non-judgemental guides- to matters you need to reconsider or develop further.

From my experience, the idea is right. When I see the output of artists who keep working day-in and day-out, their work is better.

If you are interested in reading more of the notes that I took a decade ago, click "continue reading"

Should the Government Regulate Art?

In March I attended the Symposium called “The Importance and Value of Art in Health Care".  One of the best speakers was Bill Ivey. Since he was such a good speaker I figured he would be a good writer so I ordered the book he just wrote : Arts, Inc.: How Greed and Neglect Have Destroyed Our Cultural Rights

Conclusion: I disagree with his argument that the government needs to do more to protect the Arts.

The crux of his argument is that art needs the advocacy of government to protect us from the greed of big business. I just can't accept that. The digital era is starting to liberate artists from being dependent on big business.

Most artists these days have websites to reach the public directly. They don't need the government for that.

Artists now have the tools to produce their own finished product without having to rely on a big studio. Musicians can record and distribute their own CDs. Digital tools (cameras, printers, high-speed Internet) have allowed me to run a thriving art business in a remote rural area.

I would argue that the Arts in America are stronger now than they have ever been. One reason for that is that our government for the most part stays out of the way. If we want to ensure that the Arts in America continues to thrive we just need to be sure the government does nothing other than assure artistic freedom.

Bill Ivey was the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1998 through 2001, was director of the Country Music Foundation from 1971 to 1998, and was twice elected Chairman of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He presently serves as founding director of the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University.

The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century

Alex Primm was visiting me the day my new stereo was being delivered. Seeing my renewed interest in music, he suggested a book by one of the writers for the New Yorker, the music critic Alex Ross. "The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century"

The book is great, but the music he is writing about has no place in hospitals. He is writing about challenging composers like Schoenberg and Mahler. This would never have a calming effect on sick patients.

It made me think about how so much contemporary visual art is also inappropriate in a HealthCare setting. Abstract art and conceptual art works well in museums and galleries, but usually not in hospitals.

Innovators in art and music want to push the boundaries. Their goal is not to induce peace, but rather challenge the accepted norm, to create something New.

If you are interested in challenging and thought provoking music, then in addition to this excellent book I also strongly suggest a blog that Alex Ross has: www.therestisnoise.com

Flying Flowers

Front cover of "Flying Flowers" by Rick Sammon

Butterfly images are one of the few "bug" pictures that seem to be popular in healthcare settings. I want to add a few more butterflies to the galleries on my website.

When Noppadol Paothong heard that he suggested that I look at "Flying Flowers". I was able to find a used copy online at Amazon.com.

Rick Sammon is a well known photographer who has published  over 27 books. I don't think this is his best work. For butterflies I prefer the work of Donna Brunet: www.donnabrunet.com

Donna works with subjects in the wild and uses mostly natural lighting. Sammon's butterflies were mostly captives at Butterfly World. Because they were indoors, he relied heavily on flash which creates an unnatural black background. Donna uses fill flash which is much more subtle.

I was also surprised that some of the butterflies in the book (7 by my count) had tattered wings. I would have skipped them or fixed them in Photoshop.

To see more of Rick Sammon's work his website is: www.ricksammon.com

Ultimate Blogs

After years of reading newspapers online (my homepage has been the New York Times for a decade) I've decided to give print another try; we just started getting the Sunday New York Times in print form.

One reason is to get the New York Times Book Reviews. Reading their reviews can be very entertaining and can point out what books I might want or might not want.

One that I don't think I'll go to the trouble of buying is  "ULTIMATE BLOGS Masterworks From the Wild Web" by Sarah Boxer.

David Kamp's in his review calls this a "sampler of what’s out there in the untamed blogosphere, a primer for the uninitiated". However he does not make me want to buy the book.

With millions of blogs out there, how could one anthology succeed in capturing the flavor of what is available? Still, this review is entertaining and is available for reading free: click here.

The author of the book (Sarah Boxer) has also written an essay about blogs that you can read by clicking here.

Poussin and Nature: Arcadian Visions

Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun by Nicolas Poussin, Oil on canvas; 46 7/8 x 72 in.

While I was in New York last week I was able to get out and see some art. The show that I most wanted to see was Poussin and Nature: Arcadian Visions. It was so good I went back to revisit it three times. This exhibit features some the most influential landscapes in Western art. These paintings have influenced all Western landscape painting that followed. Their impact can be felt on every piece of landscape art that is placed in a hospital today.

Nicolas Poussin lived between 1594–1666. Even thought he was French, most of his paintings were done in Italy.

Some things about the landscapes caught my attention. They always had people in them, and the people were taken from classical literature. Each painting was telling a story. That is not done much with today's landscape art. I can think of some exceptions; the photographs of Jeff Wall and Gregory Crewdson often have people staged as if part of a story.

Another issue with these paintings, which are over 300-years old is that they seemed excessively dark. The shadow areas seemed to just disappear into a dark brown pigment. I suspect that as these paintings have aged that they have darkened and changed color. I spoke with the painter that was with me as I was looking at the paintings. I wondered if it was just that the varnish had darkened but he suspected that the actual paint had degraded over time and that smoke may have have created a film that darkened the pictures.

The exhibit will be on display at the Metropolitan Museum from February 12, 2008–May 11, 2008. Here is a link to the website to hear more about these 40 paintings: Click here

There is a top quality art book to to accompany the exhibit. I'm in the middle of reading it and can recommend it highly. You can buy the book on Amazon by clicking here.

Gift idea for Geeks who enjoy Art

Illiac IV Computer (1975) photographed by Mark Richards

If you are looking for a gift for someone who is a Geek and they enjoy Art or History, consider the book: Core Memory: A Visual Survey of Vintage Computers by John Alderman.

I got it is a birthday gift last week and find it to be a great coffee-table book. It is a quick read and filled with wonderful glossy photos of the insides of historic computers. Some of them, like the Illiac IV (pictured above) are quite beautiful.

It is fun to reflect back on the massive computers from just a few decades ago. For example, according to the book, in 1961 you could buy a Philco 212 computer that had 64 KB of memory for $1.8 million.

The photographer for the book is Mark Richards. To see more of his pictures from the book, click here. The pictures were all taken at the the Computer History Museum in Mountain View California.

Derek Parker wins Distinguished Practice Award for HealthCare Design

Title on book cover.

AIA's California Council (AIACC) has named Derek Parker the 2008 recipient of the Distinguished Practice Award.

Parker approaches each project as an opportunity not only to further the goals of a healthcare organization, but also to advance the state of healthcare design. Known for introducing unconventional healthcare design elements that are now commonplace and replicated by others, he is a strong advocate of evidence-based design...

Parker co-founded the Center for Health Design, one of the leading organizations dedicated to improving healthcare practices through evidence-based design research and implementation.

To learn more about Derek's work, I suggest a new book: Modernity in Healing And Learning: The Architecture of Anshen+Allen by Felicia Cleper-Borkovi. I am enjoying reading it right now. It is a beautifully illustrated and well written small book (only 160 pages).

Incidentally, Derek provided a thoughtful response to my post on the question "Why No Cool Looking Hospitals"

Derek Parker, FAIA serves on the Board of Directors at Anshen+Allen. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Center for Health Design.

To read the press release on the award, click on "Continue Reading"