Cubism and research synthesis.

Abstract

rench artist Fernand Leger (1881–1955) embraced the Cubist art movement of fracturing objects into geometric shapes. The term cubism draws on the art critic Louis Vauxcelles’ reference to the bizarre cubes he saw in budding artwork that fragmented form into interlocking blocks. Many Cubists reduced objects into cylinders, spheres, and cones and painted them in a single plane as if all faces of an object are visible simultaneously or successively. Influenced by his background as an architec tural draftsman and by modernism, Leger was interested in the relationship between color and architecture, perhaps to express the noise, dynamism, speed, and movement of new technology and machinery. Leger’s unique brand of cubism was distinguished by his focus on geometric forms, use of brilliant primary colors, bold black outlines, and belief that everyone could understand art. Leger adapted cubism techniques to break down forms into tubular shapes. His predominant style in 1910 was nicknamed “Tubism.” Cubism can evoke in our minds the methodology of research synthesis conducted via systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Synthesis of clinical or public health research, conducted by combining results of several studies, explores the relationship between an intervention or an exposure and a health outcome from perspectives different from and in addition to those examined in a single study. In cubism, the artist paints an object from different or successive angles as a single image on a single canvas. In research synthesis, clinical and public health professionals examine the scientific literature on a certain topic from multiple years and perspectives. Meta-analysts display the literature in one publication in different figures, including forest plots, funnel plots, and chronological cumulative meta-analysis. Cubist artwork creates a feeling of movement and shape that can differ from what an object represents. Research synthesis allows for examining scientific studies of diagnostic tools, therapies, interventions, programs, or policies as part of a continuum, with the past flowing into the present and the present influencing the future. By revolutionizing the way objects are depicted and painted, Cubists created a dialogue among art critics, collectors, dealers, and the general public. Research synthesis creates a dialogue among clinical