ARTISTS TALKING

# 61 [1 December 2011]

The "Anatomy and Art" exhibition is now up, after considerable organisational problems.  Some of the students had indeed disposed of their work (sounds better than "thrown away", but that's what they did).  Another poor soul had had a disaster moving house, someone else has apparently dropped out of medicine completely, and others turned out to be untraceable (very odd, that.)  Add to all this the logistic problems I didn't have to deal with personally and it's amazing that the thing turned out as successfully as it did.

I went in to the Medical School last week merely to reassure myself that all the drawings had arrived, and that I knew where everything would be on the dayof the show, and founc that most of the A1 sheets were so tightly rolled that it took two people to hold them open -- a problem since solved thanks to a large board and a lot of heavy weights. 

Dr. Lisetta Lovett, co-ordinator of the Humanities SSCs, had undertaken the bulk of the organisation (and lived to regret it, I think) and also helped in the final selection and hanging of the work.  In the end, we mounted a modest but representative selection of students' drawings with a couple of pieces from members of staff who attended the life classes.  We also had room to feature some work on "Art & Wellness" from the Trentham Mews General Medical Practice and Treetops' Children's Hospice who participate in the Medical Humanities SSCs.  Compromises had to be made in view of the restricted display area - loads of space in the evenings but tightly packed with bodies during working hours.  Interesting to discover, too, that foyer lighting is not quite the same as gallery lighting....

The exhibition was opened by Ann Roach, a local artist, and was very well attended.  Mark Fahmy, a medical student who chose to go to the New Vic Theatre in Stoke for his Humanities SSC, performed an insightful monologue about mental illness.  The expected music didn't make an appearance, but the wine & canapés were pretty good.   Lisetta had the bright idea of suggesting that the drawings could be "sold" in aid of Operation Smile, a children's charity: the resulting crop of red dots would have done credit to a commercial gallery.

Very many thanks to all concerned, especially the students, Dr. Lisetta Lovett, and Mike Mahon, Fliss Dunn, Paul Clews and the Anatomy team for their help.

# 62 [24 February 2012]

A couple of weeks ago I altered the blog heading to read "...Year 3...".  All was well, we had a student for each block and the life model was ready and willing.  I filled in my application form for access to the Keele IT system, and was about to post it when I learned that the Anatomy and Art SSC has been cancelled this year because it isn't cost effective for one student per block.  This is interesting, since they effectively pay me by the hour.  The ways of Academe are strange indeed, and none of us heard the goalposts being moved.

Fortunately I hadn't put a stamp on the envelope with the IT form in it.

I await developments..... (and have deleted a paragraph, and changed several adjectives in the above, this being a semi-public forum.)