Medical Humanities Commons^™

Rest, My Dear, Seher Chowhan

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This is a painting of one of my best friends, Heba. It is from a night when a couple of us were hanging out at my house in high school. Heba was resting on my bed while we were talking and she was caught totally unaware when the picture was taken. She is Muslim (we both are) and Egyptian. Her religion is very important to her, as you can see by the fact she is wearing her hijab. She was so beautiful that I had to paint her. Though she is completely covered, the pictures shows her in a state …

Musings From The Dean, Elaine M. Wallace

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No abstract provided.

Design Introduction, Patt Gateley

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Artist Statement on the be Still logo created for the journal.

She Is, Andrew Lister

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No abstract provided.

Untitled, Robert Contrucci

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Throughout the history of human existence the ability of the female form to bear offspring has remained a marvel of medicine and science prying the boundaries of our creator. This black and white silhouette of the female form with child gives us a positive and powerful statement. From this comes life, which fuels our mind and powers to help create, preserve, and maintain the health of the human form and fight disease.

Editor's Introduction, Janet Lynn Roseman

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No abstract provided.

Untitled, Haley Talboy

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I am originally from Boise, Idaho and have wanted to be a doctor since before I can remember. I believe the power of observation to be vital for a physician. I also believe true beauty can be experienced from the eyes, whether looking within or out into the world.

Bliss, Nergess Taheri

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On a mission trip last year to Ecuador while I was waiting for the next surgery to begin I was able to capture this moment. The surgeon I was working with had leaned in to reassure the patient that he would be OK. You can truly see the love she has for her patient and the trust the boy has in her as his surgeon. This piece shows the true female form as a physician in her natural environment.

Untitled, Dianna Silvagni

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Art is a very personal statement. When viewing art I look for pieces to which I can relate and enjoy, whether they are realistic or abstract. When I create a piece of art it is my personal observations, experiences and spiritual connection to the piece that helps me create it. After many years of working in charcoal, chalk pastels and acrylics, mostly creating art centered around the female form, I decided to try sculpting in clay. I found the experience to be really challenging, but enjoyable.

This piece is an attempt to bring many pieces of my life with my …

Guest Editor's Introduction, Rosa De La Cruz, Ibett Yanez, Melissa Wallen

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No abstract provided.

My Body Is Mine: Yet For A Time It Was Yours, Isabel Thompson

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My body is mine, yet for time it was yours. I was made for you - my form created to be your habitat, all aspects of my being working in unison to support your growth and development. You grew and grew, becoming your own person within the liminal space of my womb. On the shoreline of a new life, breathing in and out like the waves washed upon the sand. You are of me, of us, yet separate, your own unique being. I housed you, gave you food and warmth through my body. Flesh of my flesh, blood of my …

Antithetic, Masood Mohammed

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No abstract provided.

Blinding Blue Neon, Tracey Emin

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Blinding Blue Neon created in 2000, exemplifies the artists use of familiar forms to establish relationships with the viewer through deeply personal narratives, brutal honesty and a blunt sense of humor. Caste in electric blue, the glowing neon is reminiscent of commercial signage fabricated with the intention of seducing its viewer to consume. The outline of the women, however, is rendered with a loose freedom which gives the form a liveliness and character which transcends otherwise racy connotations. Emin’s autobiographical and confessional work spans a variety of mediums, including drawing, photography, neon, video performance and applique.

Sad Swimmer, Janie Packer

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Clay is such an exciting and responsive medium in which to work. Most often I only have a germ of an idea when I begin a project. I begin to build a form and before I know it, a wild dance has begun between me and the clay. It seems to know the steps and where we are headed, so I blithely follow along, taking my cues from a bend or an outcropping in the clay. Maybe it’s starting to look like a weeping woman, or a cat with a crown on its head. I just let the dance go …

Hyster Lux, Jamie Eller

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Hyster Lux is Latin for “womb light.” This is a painting of the menstrual cycle hormones displayed in the light spectrum to show the complexity and beauty of the hormones that shape women. Red is estrogen. Yellow is progesterone. Blue is LH. White is FSH. Black is the absence of light. White is a mixture of all the colors of the light spectrum.

Fragile, Janie Packer

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Clay is such an exciting and responsive medium in which to work. Most often I only have a germ of an idea when I begin a project. I begin to build a form and before I know it, a wild dance has begun between me and the clay. It seems to know the steps and where we are headed, so I blithely follow along, taking my cues from a bend or an outcropping in the clay. Maybe it’s starting to look like a weeping woman, or a cat with a crown on its head. I just let the dance go …

Untitled, Bhavik Upadhyay

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This picture is also taken during the medical mission trip and first year medical student, Rachel Salveson and other aspiring ophthalmologists visit a school for the blind community in India. It represents a commitment made by future doctors to acquire the powerful knowledge of medical science, so that one day they can take care of the sick and most vulnerable.

Untitled, Bhavik Upadhyay

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This picture was taken during the medical mission trip to India and it is of a mother consoling her son. It represents the love and affection of a mother and her willingness to give everything to her child despite all of the challenges - and with a smiling face.

The Mysterious Woman, Eno-Emem Okpokpo

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While creating this image, I took these questions into account. What I love most about the process is that all of these questions can be answered by the viewers of this artwork. Based on our own experiences, we can come up with story lines for everything that we see. Therein lies the beauty of art. Its true meaning is left to the creative imagination of whomever appreciates it.

As healthcare professionals, we have to understand that each patient might be our “Mysterious Woman”. We have to appreciate the fact that our patients are emotional beings and not just a collection …

Untitled, Bhavik Upadhyay

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This picture was taken in a local school in Gujarat, India. These happy girls, who shied away from the camera, walk miles every day to attend their school that does not have a roof. This picture represents their commitment to a better future and my commitment to the people of the country of my birth as I continue my training.

Madonna And Child, Janie Packer

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Clay is such an exciting and responsive medium in which to work. Most often I only have a germ of an idea when I begin a project. I begin to build a form and before I know it, a wild dance has begun between me and the clay. It seems to know the steps and where we are headed, so I blithely follow along, taking my cues from a bend or an outcropping in the clay. Maybe it’s starting to look like a weeping woman, or a cat with a crown on its head. I just let the dance go …

Root Of Everything, Christina Mangiaracina

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This piece is entitled Root of Everything. A woman waters the soil like she nurtures her family and inspires our minds. She plants the seeds in our heads so we can explore and see paths blooming from the branch up north all the way to the branch down south. The female form is the nutrient of life.

The Bather, Paula Waziry

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What inspired me to work on the female form was the belief that our minds can create our reality. Most of my life I had suffered from morbid obesity - reaching at one point 288 lbs. Most likely my body weight reached higher numbers, but I refused to step on the scale after observing the dreaded 288! I was suffering from low self esteem, depression, severe low back pain, tendinitis, plantar fasciitis and several other "itis" when I realized that the most powerful tool that I had available was my brain. If I was going to turn my life around, …

Looking From Within, Phillip Berges, Berges Alvarez

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I made this with my father using a lateral chest X-ray superimposed under a quality control film. Together, we drew in the facial features, cut and pasted and enlarged the photographic image to produce this beautiful, strong assertive woman. We thought this image perfectly reflects the power, determination, and mystery contained within her gaze. Together and from within, women show their strength.

Birth Of Venus, Paula Waziry

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What inspired me to work on the female form was the belief that our minds can create our reality. Most of my life I had suffered from morbid obesity - reaching at one point 288 lbs. Most likely my body weight reached higher numbers, but I refused to step on the scale after observing the dreaded 288! I was suffering from low self esteem, depression, severe low back pain, tendinitis, plantar fasciitis and several other "itis" when I realized that the most powerful tool that I had available was my brain. If I was going to turn my life around, …

Sibyl, Paula Waziry

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What inspired me to work on the female form was the belief that our minds can create our reality. Most of my life I had suffered from morbid obesity - reaching at one point 288 lbs. Most likely my body weight reached higher numbers, but I refused to step on the scale after observing the dreaded 288! I was suffering from low self esteem, depression, severe low back pain, tendinitis, plantar fasciitis and several other "itis" when I realized that the most powerful tool that I had available was my brain. If I was going to turn my life around, …

Untitled, Ben Sokoloff

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In the outdated traditional view of women, spiders are associated with certain qualities and attributes. Beauty. Grace. Cunning. Homemakers. Skill with crafts. I tried to imagine these over-generalized features in another form that can be juxtaposed with this antiquated view. And I came up with the spider from the story of Arachne.

Cintya, Seher Chowhan

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This is a painting of a girl names Cintya from Huancayo, Peru. I went to Peru on a medical mission trip with the Foundation for the International Medical Relief of Children in 2012. Cintya was in an orphanage called Rosario that houses victims of sexual abuse. Another girl at the orphanage had gone around the orphanage taking pictures and this painting depicts one on those pictures. I’m not sure what it is about the photo, but I just love the expression on her face and she has a natural, relaxed happiness that can only come from a close friend taking …

Trichina, Krishna Suri

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Classical India provided a unique juxtaposition of art and life. One would readily see monasteries which extolled the values of asceticism and celibacy yet would display female sculptures that exuded sensuality. Such presentations are not hedonistic, but instead present the female form at its most divine and graceful. The tribhanga position was the epitome of this philosophy accentuating the curves and elegance of the sacred female.

Art offers me an avenue to decompress from school life and to use the knowledge I have gained in innovative ways. As a healthcare practitioner, I want to use this passion to develop new …

Cultivation, Erudition, Edification, Ariel Lee

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Cultivation, Erudition, Edification is an exercise of self-portraiture. Few careers are as all encompassing, and all consuming as that as a physician. Becoming a physician is a metamorphosis, it changes who you are and becomes an intrinsic part of who you become. As a medical student, I am measured first by my intellect, and then by my communication skills, social competence and responsibility. In a way, I am somewhat disembodied by my profession. Everyday life comes with a mask on your face, bulky scrubs obscuring your gender and the epochal white coat spilling over with notes, books and instruments. Gender …