Health Care Fine Art

Is the Sky Falling on HealthCare Art?

2008-11-22T09:00:00-06:00

Addendum: November 22nd, 2008
There are now over 30 comments to this post. To read them click the underlined word "Comments" at the bottom of the post. To read them all, once you have gotten to the bottom of a page, if you see an icon that is an underline under two right carrots, click that to go to the next page. It looks like this:

The news says the sky is falling. The stock market and the housing market are crashing. Major companies are going out of business. Yet, this week at the HCD08 conference I saw no hint of dark clouds on the horizon. I talked with many designers and art consultants in healthcare who are overwhelmed with work. When I go out to dinner at night here in DC the fancy restaurants are full.

What is the truth? Is the sky falling? What impact will the economic crisis have on the use of Art in HealthCare?

I asked Charlie Peltason to give me his take on the economic outlook. He has spent his entire career in finance. He has been a good friend of mine since High School. Here is what he wrote:

1st of all I am very pessimistic. I think things are going to be simply horrific. Yes HealthCare may be relatively protected, but not all aspects of it will be ok. You know all those high priced plastic surgeons charging $5 grand for breast augmentation....forget about them and their nice shinny new offices. Discretionary surgery including cosmetic is history! Unemployment means less health insurance, who needs plastic surgery when they are worried about keeping their homes?

Hospital occupancy? History. Home health care is way cheaper.........and it implies trouble for the nursing home industry as well. So...unless it's an emergency, hospitals are going to see way less admits.............they can't hold em longer cuz they can't get reimbursed, etc.............Why would anyone in their right mind concern themselves with pretty pictures on a wall?

Like I said....even within safe industries there are going to be huge challenges.

Unemployment at 8 1/2%-9% and I may be LOW!!! DOW Industrial Average 6500! Initially, interest rates low to lower but not necessarily at the consumer level. Taxes moderated near term, eventually going much higher. Interest rates going a lot higher in a year or so.

Massive continued bankruptcies, both personal and public (i.e. Circuit City). Massive continued home foreclosures which imply continued decline in home prices. Many (a majority) of home mortgages will be upside down, in other words people will owe more than their houses are worth. This is a simply dreadful outlook because it implies so many other horrible outcomes over time.

HUGE rates of closings of restaurants, travel and entertainment will take HUGE hits. Large air carriers may go broke along with auto companies which mean either one of two things. They will be nationalized or gone, poof, gone! State and local municipalities will be unable to fund Medicaid/Medicare. Ditto other obligations. We're talking deficits at the state and local levels not seen in our lifetimes with implications that are equally horrific.

So pretty much end of the world scenario in my opinion. Cash is and will be king. Huge deflation.....before we are all done and said, huge inflation, then stabilization. I'm thinking at least 5 years of hell, maybe more. This is going to be a 21st century version of the great depression. Baby Boomers will have to work longer and or sell retirement assets at values far below what they expect or need to fund retirements.

So, don't buy stocks now, don't buy bonds now, don't buy commodities now. Think tech names and consumer durables (i.e. Microsoft, Cisco, P&G, Clorox). If you don't buy it yourself don't buy the stocks or funds who invest in those kinds of names. The PC pipeline is devastated as are the related industries. Starbucks is an example of a company who may be gone after a while! Who the hell needs a $5 cup of espresso when they can get a good cup of coffee at McDonald's for a buck? There's still huge unrevealed structural challenges and there's no end in sight. You are in a full employment city right now Henry....gov't jobs! I looked at the Federal Job sit yesterday and the wages they pay are huge by comparison to the private sector!!!! I'm betting after Christmas a lot of shopping centers will begin to close and at the least loose a lot of paying tenants.

There is no delay Henry....this is hitting the fan right now, BIG TIME. The other day DHL ceased operations in the US. A small town in Ohio, Middlebury I think it's called suddenly lost 10,000 jobs overnight and unemployment there is now 50%!!!! Think maybe that will presage a shit storm for the local grocery stores and other business's there?

There are a few areas that are relatively safe, now and for the foreseeable future. Health care and consumer durables including supermarkets. Just about everything else is going to get creamed. Art in HealthCare will get hit but only because it's discretionary not a required aspect of health care

I'd hunker down if I were you....be scared, I mean it. I know it's a self fulfilling mind set but if you don't you will regret it. Too many people have VERY real reasons to be scared and they will act accordingly and spend accordingly. Be glad you live on a farm, live near the state capital and could go back to medicine if you chose to. The sky might be puffy with patches of blue to you but I'll bet regular folk like me are going to be suffering big time, for a long time. Barack Obama can't fix this any time soon, no one could.

Reasons? For 12 years or so the economy grew because a lot of people used their home values to increase their standards of living. This was the linchpin of the whole economic expansion. Now...the birds are coming home to root (no pun intended) and we are going to have to reverse direction to make up for the massive deflation of housing values. It's a titanic disaster and one that isn't going away any time soon.

You know for example that the St. Louis Art Museum 'postponed' their $24 million capital improvement program, right? Think maybe they don't see getting the pledges any time soon? Think this is an isolated case? It's not and we are closer to the beginnings of this than the end.

This is what I think and I seriously doubt I am going to be wrong. What would I do right now? Even though I don't know the specifics, I'd be willing to bet that you and Lorna will be supporting more than one family member within a year.....and this will go on all over the US. The worst part of this is the unknown....which is that we aren't alone. The rest of the world's economies are going to get trashed and it's hard to say how much worse that will make matters. Aren't you glad you asked? :(

Featured Artist: Charley Harper

2008-11-21T01:44:00-06:00

Mystery of the Missing Migrants by Charley Harper

I continue to welcome suggestions of artists whose work would fit well in healthcare settings. Recently Sarah Colby suggested Charley Harper. This is what she wrote:

I think Charley Harper's work would be absolutely delightful for a hospital environment. The prints are lively, colorful and often gently humorous. They have a certain nostalgic quality but still look fresh and smart.

Charley has been discovered by a whole new generation of artists, designers and collectors. Shortly before he died last year, he was the subject of a major exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati - and a fabulous book followed.

Sarah Colby is the Arts + Healthcare Program Coordinator for the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation.

If you have an artist you would like to suggest, please email me the name and a brief description of why you think their art is suited for healthcare.

The crash of the hospital art market ?

2008-11-19T18:43:24-06:00

Alexandra Peers writes in the Wall Street Journal today:

The art market's crash -- for that is what it is -- threatens to remake the art world. In the past few weeks, auctioneers, dealers, artists and collectors have changed strategies and policies, and it's likely that future changes will be even more sweeping.

When hospitals buy art, they typically are not dealing with the "art market" that this article is referring to: auctioneers, dealers and collectors. For healthcare art there tends to be a different mix of players: art consultants, interior designers and the hospital administration. The only similarity between the "art market" and the "hospital art market" is the artists themselves.

But the threats for those involved in the "art market" will be equally challenging to those in the "hospital art market". Is the hospital art market also crashing? Time will tell.

The article, called "The Fine Art of Surviving the Crash in Auction Prices" Click here to read the article (registration required).

Art Business News

2008-11-19T07:02:27-06:00

I did a Google search today for "Art Business". Art Business News was 3rd from the top with a blurb that said "Provides industry news, marketing matters and emerging trends that drive sales for art publishers, galleries, solo artists and art-related business."

This free website is worth a look, especially if you are interested in poster art. The URL is www.artbusinessnews.com

Pros

Podcast interviews with the leaders in Poster Art click here
Free Online access of featured articles since 2004 click here
Online video library click here

Cons

Cluttered look due to advertising links
No international coverage

The target audience seems to be art consultants and those who run frame shops, not top-dollar New York Galleries.

Art takes a hit - Advice for artists

2008-11-18T01:29:00-06:00

The San Francisco Chronicle ran an article last weekend "Even art takes a hit in economic downturn" by Julian Guthrie. "There are bubbles in all kinds of business. The art business is not immune. But it will recover. Sometimes you learn through suffering... Gallery owners are cutting costs, losing sleep and bracing for tougher times ahead. And, they're worrying about their artists..."

What is an artist to do in times like this? The article suggests:

Have a business to fall back on
Learn to barter by trading your art for services you need
You can barter with doctors, dentists, restaurants, lawyers

Financial Downturn Hits Art Market

2008-11-17T01:53:00-06:00

Cut Cakes by Wayne Thiebold, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in.

No one would buy art for hospitals at the fancy art auctions held by Sotheby's and Christie's; the art is simply too expensive. However, it is interesting to see what is happening to prices as that reflects what is happening to art sales in general. According to the Wall Street Journal this week:

The global financial crisis dealt a blow to the art market during the flagship fall auctions in New York City that concluded Friday, as fewer collectors were willing to splurge on the world's priciest artworks. Overall sales were less than half what they were a year ago, and a majority of works were offered at prices far below their presale estimates.

Art-market watchers had predicted sluggish results. These sales show that the art market is no longer immune from the global credit crisis that has already upended other industry sectors.

One of the pieces that just sold was "Cut Cakes" illustrated above. It was expected to selll for $2,000,000 to $3,000,000, but the actual sale price was $1,762,500.

The article from the November 15th issue of The Wall Street Journal is called "Call This One 'Crisis With a Pipe' Financial Downturn Finally Leaves an Impression on the Art Market" by Kelly Crow. Click here for a link (but registration is necessary)

New YouTube Video

2008-11-16T07:42:04-06:00

Today Lorna added this three-and-a-half-minute video clip on the "About" page of my website. It explores the connections between my medical background, my art and where I live. Thanks to Steve Mays and Lorna for making this happen.

Challenging Art Project: Long Term Acute Care

2008-11-12T04:49:00-06:00

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One of the winners in the contest for the "most challenging art project" was the HealthCare Architect Jeffrey Yentz. This is the text that Jeffrey submitted:

There is a new healthcare paradigm and that is the hospital within a hospital concept which drives the aesthetic "bus" of an LTACH (long term acute care hospital). With an aging population that is sicker then a typical patient prescribed to be discharged; the federal government has agreed there should be a unique inpatient environment affording a length of stay approaching 26 days (versus the norm of 4).

The challenge is to create an environment that stimulates, inspires, and motivates. One such way is to accomplish said goal is by introducing artwork that with subtle inferences enhances said motivation.

The goal is to create a sense of self trust and self worth during the course of recuperation so that the patient is inclined to return home healthy versus attempting to cling to every "free" day within a hospital environment.

How is this accomplished?

We emphasized photographic images in lieu of framed poster art. Traditional art inherently elicits an emotional gleaning but does not reflect the reality of the world the healthcare clientele will be returning to. Plus, much of available artwork does not speak to the united nations sort of clientele that befalls the contemporary reality: different cultures, different races, different beliefs, ages, sexes, etc. Carefully selected photos however reflect both an honesty and personality that all can relate to especially if the images are from in and around the region. The result is a united nations imagery for a united nations clientele.

One interesting unanticipated turn of events was the treatment of photographic images. To frame or not to frame. In other words, to transpose the photographic image onto a canvas or to have that product hung versus the traditional framing. A juxtaposition is what transpired. Clientele leaning to the geriatric side of the patient population much preferred the framed scenario because it made them feel like there were looking through a window .. which invariably is what they do for the most part when they are at home. They simply do not opt to traverse outside all that much. This means their world is akin to looking through a looking glass. However clientele (not up in years) preferred a tactile aesthetic presentation (the canvas option) because their world is very much getting out in the world and the canvas scenario afforded more connectivity to their world's features and elements.

Since a hospital staff cannot predict the profile of patient about to be a denizen on an LTACH environment we could not "segregate" an aesthetic zone for the framed clientele versus the canvas clientele. So in the final resolve there was a "leap frog" approach that annotated every other corridor piece would be of type "one" and the next as type "two". This appeased each category of clientele BUT also represented a therapeutic motivator for the patient who needed to get up and about. So in lieu of the traditional motivational flooring "squares"/patterns we could keep the floor patterning clean and leave the motivation to the wall treatments.

Jeffrey Yentz AIA is the Corporate Architect for Centra Health/Virginia Baptist Hopital in Lynchburg Virginia. As an award, he has received a brand new copy of HealthCare Spaces 4

HCD08

2008-11-11T05:20:21-06:00

The audience at Jain Malkin's Talk on Evidence-based Design

Today is the last day of HCD08 (the HealthCare Design 2008 conference). Once again this 4-day conference has proven to be of great value for those interested in the use of art in HealthCare.

The conference is a great place to see art and learn about how others are using art in hospitals. You have the opportunity to meet the top people in the field who specify art, buy art and sell art. All the researchers doing work on Evidence-based Art were there.

In the exhibit area there are at least 15 companies with booths displaying art for healthcare. Here is a snapshot of me and Lorna at our booth:

3,200 people showed up for this conference in Washington DC. It is a diverse mix which includes among other things Interior Designers, Architects and hospital admininstration. Most of the attendees are from North America but there is a growing number of those from around the globe.

I've taken some snapshots of the confernce. To see the pictures, click here.

I've written before about why I consider this the most important conference on the use of art in HealthCare. Click here to read "HCD08 - Best HealthCare Design Conference". Next year HCH09 is going to be in Orlando, Florida. I've already signed up to go again.

Interview: Diana Spellman

2008-11-10T01:40:00-06:00

Interior Designer Diana Spellman

Diana Spellman is one of the leaders on the use of art in HealthCare. Last year she wrote a cover article: "The Art of Healing" for HealthCare Design Magazine. Recently she answered a few questions about her company and the use of Art in Healthcare during a phone interview:

Last year you were diagnosed and treated for Breast Cancer. Has that experience altered your view on the use of art in Healthcare?

Yes! I’ve become more passionate about the use of color and Artwork in Healthcare facilities, the Mind, Body, and Spirit connection is very real. For instance, I received Chemotherapy for five months with an excellent team of doctors, but the infusion area that I spent a lot of time in was painted in grayed blue tones, did not take advantage of the wide expanse of windows, and the Artwork consisted of several silk wreaths. Fortunately, I had a very positive and fighting spirit, but the patient care environment does have a significant influence on the patient’s state of mind, thus affects their health.

I witnessed many patients come into the Chemotherapy area, completely down in their spirit, and really scared. I believe that if the environment utilized warmth in neutral wall finishes, allowed the sunlight and nature outdoors to come into the space and utilized interesting macro images of nature within the spaces that a sense of positive hope would transcend full circle to the patients and caregivers.

In addition, I was hospitalized numerous times for surgeries, again experienced firsthand how the built environment affects the patient experience, as well as my family and the caregivers. The exterior/interior environments from the time you leave your car, cross the parking and enter the building, the color, materials and Artwork affect your sense of security and well being. An example of this was my experience of pre-op prep in an area that had a sense of coldness, from the use of hard materials in grayed/cool colors, cool lighting color that made the patient feel like a specimen and lastly no Artwork of any vibrance and clarity with color. Henry, that is something your work brings to the environment, a true sense of hope and compassion.

One last example of an experience I encountered, was my hospital room, right out of the retro 60’s with the built-in lockers for my clothes, and an attempt to update with paint and a pastel wallpaper border. The paint selection and the use of a beautiful image of nature, say an up close branch with a butterfly, brings into the space, a special sense of nature’s surprises. As a patient, I would have felt more cherished than looking at the foot wall that was crowded with numerous signs and marker boards, that I could not even see with out putting on my glasses.

What impact will the downturn in the economy have on the use of Art in Healthcare? Does this mean reduced budgets and more poster art?

There is no doubt that people will continue to cut budgets, money is tighter. With less money for Art, I encourage my clients to do less, but do it with the most sensitive impact possible. Rather than buy more quantity and inexpensive, plan on blending the budget with Fine Artwork in the key wayfinding focal points and if needed, implementing it in phases over time.

I am very proud to say that many times we have helped our owners create events to raise dollars to fund the better quality Artwork, we are there to really partner with the owner. An example of this was several years ago, I created a Wine and Cheese fundraiser for an owner, and we did a private Fine Art Preview tour with community leaders. It was so much fun! We had the help of an auctioneer to auction off “Naming Rights” on the specialized pieces and we helped to raise over 40% of their entire Artwork budget in a two-hour period.

Many hospital CEOs understand the value of working with design professionals to create the Healing Environments – with Artwork Master Plans. If they read the latest information on this topic or have completed new buildings or renovations with well thought out Artwork, they experience dividends with their patient satisfaction, thus it translates into more market share. That being said, it is more critical than ever to work with experienced professionals that understand the administration’s mission and goals. The Artwork budgets must be carefully planned and executed to get the most value for the dollar. No owner has money to waste, that is why working with the professionals create the most successful end results.

Tell me a little about Spellman Brady & Company. How did you get into this, how did the company start and how has it changed over the years? Who is the “Brady” part of the name?

Well, first of all, the Brady is my maiden name. I like it and am proud of it, so I wanted to utilize it in our company’s identity. We are also a certified WBE, (Woman Owned Enterprise), so again it was important to use the Brady name. I grew up in a medical family but always loved design and Art. I love to create Artwork, but that tapered off as I became busy with my career and family. My husband, Stan and I got into the Healthcare design specialty (28) years ago working with a large architectural firm HLM. That is where we met each other, working in the interiors department, and have moved cross country twice during our careers, working out in the inter-mountain west and also California.

We always knew some day we would open our own firm, and seventeen years ago when our oldest was a baby did just that. Our goal was to create a smaller firm with experienced designers, to interface with the owners (Hospitals, Senior Living, and Universities) and the architectural teams across the country. Our expertise creates the bridge between the owner, architects, furniture manufacturers and artists directly. We have the ability to design with the finishes, furnishings and artwork as functional sculpture with the facilities. Our processes are very effective to create the most successful timeless designs and be fiscally responsible. Once we have teamed with different architects they realize they can team with a company like SB&C that understand their vision and wants to create a seamless end result. That is why, for instance, our Artwork Master Plans look cohesive and integrated with the architecture, not applied like frosting. Same goes for the furniture packages, timeless and integrated.

How many people work there now?

The first four years in business, Stan and I worked out of our home with a part-time assistant, but it became too much of an invasion on our family, (I was expecting our second child.) In 95’ we moved into our first office with three other team members, and it grew by about six team members every five years. With (21) full time and (4) part time, I would say, that we have been careful to control our growth, by doing a good job of forecasting and budgeting our overhead in order to have a healthy business, and to be able to pass on operational savings to our clients.

What geographic area do you serve?

We work all across North America; we’ve done business in 28 states, as well as planning for one of our University clients who has a campus in Geneva, Switzerland. We are able to work very efficiently long distance because we began our careers working across the country, long distance with hospitals. That was back in the day, when shipping in samples quickly, was sending them overnight on a bus or an airplane, well before overnight Fed Ex and UPS.

What percentage of your business is HealthCare?

Our work breaks down into three vertical markets:

Healthcare 50%
Higher Education: 30%
Senior Living: 20% - this is a big growth area

We actually see growth in all three of our markets, but as we all know, the baby boomers are getting older.

Do you refer to Evidence-based Art when helping a HealthCare client come up with an art program?

Evidence-based Design is certainly a buzz-word these days; it is very exiting and progressive. I believe the whole language of Evidence-based Design was created in order to associate meaning to this movement of Healthcare design as non-institutional in appearance, but still with patient safety/ infection control, quality care/patient stress reduction, caregiver productivity and of course environmental efficiencies.

However, many great Designers were doing Evidence-based work long before the term was invented. Evidence-based Design is looking to create ways to measure what we do and that is very important as the profession progresses.

Some research on Evidence-based Art suggests that abstract art is inappropriate for patient care areas. What is your opinion?

Hard abstraction, or pure abstraction (like Jackson Pollock) is difficult for many people to understand; they reject it. However, I do believe soft abstraction; with a component of realism can work well in patient care areas, as long as the colors produce a sense of calmness. I am thinking patient care areas such as a Chemotherapy infusion area where a patient needs to escape into an image that is thought provoking and calming at the same time. Truly, the general population does not like abstract, unless they can see imagery in it, such as mixed media collage Artwork that has actual images within the overall piece. A large macro Fine Art photograph can have a sense of abstraction to it and still be very effective. What’s fun in creating Artwork Master Plans is to create an element of surprise and delight in key focal point areas.

What differentiates you from your competition in putting together art projects for hospitals?

Overall there are numerous Artwork specialists around the country that can do a very good job of creating Artwork in Healthcare settings. I believe that my education and experience as an Interior Designer adds a huge benefit of integrating the art with the rest of the building architecture, interior design and wayfinding. We design a lot of custom design features that incorporate art or become art. Our team has the resources and expertise to integrate these elements with the building that may require some architectural and/or engineering work by the design team or by the fabricator.