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The Pablo Picasso Alzheimer's Therapy
NY Times ^ | October 30, 2005 | RANDY KENNEDY

Posted on 10/30/2005 10:03:14 AM PST by neverdem

SITTING the other day in front of Picasso's rapturous "Girl Before a Mirror" at the Museum of Modern Art, Rueben Rosen wore the dyspeptic look of a man with little love for modern art. But the reason he gave for disliking the painting was not one you might expect to hear from an 88-year-old former real estate broker.

"It's like he's trying to tell a story using words that don't exist," Mr. Rosen said finally of Picasso, fixing the painter's work with a critic's stare. "He knows what he means, but we don't."

This chasm of understanding is one that Mr. Rosen himself stares into every day. He has midstage Alzheimer's disease, as did the rest of the men and women who were sitting alongside him in a small semicircle at the museum, all of them staring up at the Picasso.

It was a Tuesday, and the museum was closed, but if it had been open other visitors could have easily mistaken the group for any guided tour. Mr. Rosen and his friends did not wear the anxious, confused looks they had worn when they first arrived at the museum. They did not quarrel in the way that those suffering from Alzheimer's sometimes do. And when they talked about the paintings, they did not repeat themselves or lose the thread of the discussion, as they often do at the long-term care home where most of them live in Palisades, N.Y.

At one point, a member of the tour, Sheila Barnes, 82, a quick-witted former newspaper editor who suffers from acute short-term memory loss...

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: alzheimers; alzheimersdisease; art
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Since the "National Institute on Aging held a conference in Alexandria, Va., last year to allow researchers to compare notes on Alzheimer's and artistic activity," taxpayer funded activities do not belong in "Chat"! We'll see what the admin mods do.

Now I understand the reason for modern art. In case your not familiar with Jackson Pollack, here's one of his paintings.

1 posted on 10/30/2005 10:03:15 AM PST by neverdem
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To: neverdem

What does Jackson Pollack have to do with this story?


2 posted on 10/30/2005 10:06:49 AM PST by dangus
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To: neverdem

Well, that isn't really one of his paintings. It's a postage-stamp sized thumbnail digital photo of the painting. Can't see much there.

Have you seen the actual painting? I have. I was quite impressed by it. Different tastes, I guess.


3 posted on 10/30/2005 10:07:16 AM PST by MineralMan (godless atheist)
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To: dangus

"What does Jackson Pollack have to do with this story?"

I wondered that, myself. The group did not view a Pollack, as far as I could tell.


4 posted on 10/30/2005 10:09:18 AM PST by MineralMan (godless atheist)
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To: neverdem

Nobody's ugly after 2 am.

5 posted on 10/30/2005 10:10:12 AM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: MineralMan; dangus
"What does Jackson Pollack have to do with this story?"

I wondered that, myself. The group did not view a Pollack, as far as I could tell.

(For now, the tours focus on representational art, on the theory that it's an easier touchstone for narratives and memories. There are no Pollocks, for example.)

Modern art includes Pollock's abstract stuff. I showed a typical work of Pollock in case someone isn't familiar with him.

6 posted on 10/30/2005 10:28:51 AM PST by neverdem (May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows that you're dead.)
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To: MineralMan; neverdem
IIRC, Picasso started the abstract ball rolling with cubism and Pollack followed shortly with abstract expressionism. Either way I think they are both great examples of art that defies word and explanation.

I love abstract painting and modern art in general (specific pieces, of course, not all), but I can't for the life of me explain why (even to myself).

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907.


7 posted on 10/30/2005 10:34:36 AM PST by Dark Skies ("A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants." -- Churchill)
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To: Dark Skies

I enjoy the moderns, too, both the semi-representational stuff like Picasso's and the non-representational art of Pollack and others.

I suspect that the original poster does not share that appreciation. Thank goodness there's room for varied tastes in art.


8 posted on 10/30/2005 10:38:18 AM PST by MineralMan (godless atheist)
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To: El Gato; JudyB1938; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Robert A. Cook, PE; lepton; LadyDoc; jb6; tiamat; PGalt; ..
California Seeks to Stop the Use of Child Medical Interpreters

Richard E. Smalley, 62, Dies; Chemistry Nobel Winner

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list. Anyone can post any unrelated link as they see fit.

9 posted on 10/30/2005 10:48:16 AM PST by neverdem (May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows that you're dead.)
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To: neverdem; Republicanprofessor; Sam Cree

This is fascinating.


10 posted on 10/30/2005 11:00:45 AM PST by Lady Jag (Semper Paratus!)
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To: Dark Skies
IIRC, Picasso started the abstract ball rolling with cubism and Pollack followed shortly with abstract expressionism.

IIRC, my art teacher, for a core requirement course I needed to take in college, would say Paul Cezanne got that ball rolling.

The Bay

11 posted on 10/30/2005 11:04:18 AM PST by neverdem (May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows that you're dead.)
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To: MineralMan
I suspect that the original poster does not share that appreciation.

You're correct about my appreciation of modern art. I think that it is entirely too subjective in interpretation, excellent for bloviating.

But if helps those suffering from dementia, I'm all for it. I'm not making insults. I've worked in nursing homes. I don't like drugging folks.

12 posted on 10/30/2005 11:11:20 AM PST by neverdem (May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows that you're dead.)
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To: Lady Jag

it certainly is.

I don't know if you ever saw the segment on 60 minutes (yeah, I know) with lesley stahl and the young, blind musical savants, but it's another amazing piece on how the brain works. Seemingly damaged in one area, but other areas flourish.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/20/60minutes/main957718.shtml


13 posted on 10/30/2005 11:25:33 AM PST by flashbunny (Ask yourself why some posters here use the term "uber conservative" like it's some kind of slur.)
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To: neverdem
Wow, The Bay.

Your teacher probably has it right. I am just a fan. I think I remember reading that Picasso and Braque's cubism was heavily influenced by Cezanne.

You can actually see the Cezanne influence in Braque's Viaduct at L'Estaque...


14 posted on 10/30/2005 11:29:42 AM PST by Dark Skies ("A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants." -- Churchill)
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To: flashbunny
After reading about savants a long time ago, I studied IQ a bit. IQ is measured in dozens of categories (sections of the brain). Some parts work much better than others whether you are smart or not so smart, and basically, that's where savants come from. They are exceptional in one part.

Just as some people are fantastic with their hands, but can't read, sometimes music is the only way a savant can communicate...there are so many variations that the brain is hard to understand, even though there are tons of clues. Music is evident in savants and Alzheimer's treatment, but why?

From when I started looking into this, our knowledge has skyrocketed and continues to do so. Wouldn't it be great to have some breakthroughs soon.
15 posted on 10/30/2005 11:41:37 AM PST by Lady Jag (Semper Paratus!)
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To: Sam Cree; Liz; Joe 6-pack; woofie; vannrox; giotto; iceskater; Conspiracy Guy; Dolphy; ...
Yes, Lady Jag, it is fascinating. I wish I could have read the rest of the article. The different psychological interpretations of Picasso's Girl before the Mirror (posted early in the article) are wide-ranging. I think today my college students often see her as (unwillingly) pregnant.

Ping list, here we go.

Art Ping. Let Sam Cree or me know if you want on or off this list.

16 posted on 10/30/2005 12:00:52 PM PST by Republicanprofessor
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To: MineralMan; Dark Skies; neverdem
At the risk of sounding like a hopeless academic, I have done a few essays on Free Republic on the development of abstract art. You can see Cezanne, Braque and Picasso in these threads.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1419876/posts on Cezanne and van Gogh

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1427099/posts on the development of Cubism

You are right, all of this began in the nineteenth century, although some might even say that the flattening process (which ultimately led to Picasso and Pollock) began with Manet and his Picnic.

I did just see Pollock's One at the Museum of Modern Art, and the power in his large, great pieces never ceases to amaze me. Not all of them are great, but when he strikes it right, it is wonderful.

When I was there, a German couple were also sitting on the bench, studying it and discussing it in German. I wished I'd understood what they were saying.

17 posted on 10/30/2005 12:14:12 PM PST by Republicanprofessor
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To: Republicanprofessor

Thanks for the links!


18 posted on 10/30/2005 1:32:22 PM PST by neverdem (May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows that you're dead.)
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To: Republicanprofessor; MineralMan; Dark Skies; neverdem
Professor...thx very much for your post. Of course, please put me on your ping list.

I just finished reading your post on Cezanne and Van Gogh. It is remarkable. I look forward to reading the others.

19 posted on 10/30/2005 1:56:26 PM PST by Dark Skies ("A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants." -- Churchill)
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To: Republicanprofessor

Thanks for the ping, prof. Very interesting regarding both art and the workings of the mind.


20 posted on 10/30/2005 1:58:19 PM PST by Bahbah (Tony Schaffer is a hero)
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