Intoxicated by My Illness: Artistic Expressions of Terminal Illness and Grief (323)

Abstract

1.Compare and contrast the artists’ ideal patient-doctor relationship at the end of life.2.Discuss how the terminally ill person can use illness to reform and energize the self and community with artistic expressions.3.Discuss how suffering is both personal and universal. Three artists have captured the experience of dying and grief with their artistic expressions. Goethe has stated “seeds for the planting must not be grounded.” This became a revelation to Kathe Kollwitz with the loss of her son in World War I. Her grief provided important purpose and energy to her lithographs woodcuttings and sculptures. She said, “I do not want to go until I have faithfully made the most of my talent and cultivated the seed that was placed in me until the last twig has grown.” Anatole Broyard, a literary critic, recorded his illness over course. His prose “Intoxicated by My Illness” expresses the creative force of terminal illness. “A critical illness is like a great permission and authorization or absolving. It's all right for a threatened man to be romantic even crazy if he feels like it. All your life you think you have to hold back your craziness but when you are sick you can let it out in all its garish colors.” Robert Pope died at age 35 from side effects of chemotherapy. He recorded his experience in painting. “One positive quality of cancer or any serious illness is the way it causes us to focus and consider priorities perhaps even for the first time.” This workshop will compare and contrast the artists’ ideal patient-doctor relationship at the end of life. We will discuss how the terminally ill person can use illness to reform and energize the self and community with artistic expressions. We will explore how suffering is both personal and universal. The prose of Broyard suggests psychological isolation from his support network. Broyard also makes strong recommendations about how caregivers should interact with patients. We will explore these recommendations as myth or reality. Finally, we will discuss the visual arts in grief and loss. Psychological and Psychiatric Aspects of Care; Spiritual, Religious, and Existential Aspects of Care; Cultural Aspects of Care