Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 21, 2005|Volume 34, Number 8

Because of the massive scale of the paintings in "Saving Faces," the Yale-sponsored exhibit is being held in the John Slade Ely House.

Show reveals 'journey' of
reconstructive surgery patients

An exhibition of nearly six-foot-tall portraits painted by Glasgow artist Mark Gilbert and showing faces distorted by cancer, congenital deformities and trauma has been brought to Yale under the sponsorship of the Humanities in Medicine program.

The works in "Saving Faces" depict the patients' physical appearance before, after and, at times, during reconstructive surgery. The portraits aim to capture more than a form of the patients' faces, showing the patients' changing emotions, character and confidence, as well.

"The portraits chart the patients' faces as they progress through their surgical and emotional journey," says Dr. Thomas Duffy, professor of hemotology and director of the Humanities in Medicine Program.

"The result is not simply medical illustration, but a 'feeling into' the life and suffering of the subjects portrayed. Aesthetics, compassion and the visual depiction of medical treatment are all part of this sometimes disturbing but always moving show," he says.

Yale is only the second venue in the exhibit's North American tour. The 17 portraits were displayed first at the National Portrait Gallery in London and then toured throughout the British Isles and Europe. Because of the paintings' massive scale, the Yale exhibit is being held in a local gallery, the John Slade Ely House, 51 Trumbull St.

The exhibit is the result of a collaboration between Gilbert and British surgeon Ian Hutchinson. Gilbert held a year-long fellowship at St. Bartholomew's and the Royal London Hospital, where he worked on the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Units.

Five lectures will accompany "Saving Faces." The first, at the opening reception at 5 p.m. on Oct. 20, was presented by Dr. Mark Depman, a physician and artist who is also clinical instructor at the Yale School of Medicine. He spoke about "Saving Faces: The Artist in the Hospital."

The other lectures will be:

* Nov. 3, 5 p.m., Yale Medical Historical Library, Sterling Hall of Medicine (SHM), 333 Cedar St. Thomas Pruzinsky, psychology professor at Quinnipiac University and adjunct professor at the New York University (NYU) Medical Center's Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, and Jodie Berlin Morrow, also of the NYU Institute for Reconstructive Surgery, will speak on "Psychological and Social Perspectives on Living with Facial Disfigurement."

* Nov. 17, 5 p.m., Beaumont Room, SHM. Chalmers Clark, visiting professor in the Center for Philosophy and History of Science, Boston University, will talk about the ethics of face transplantation in "What's in a Word? What's in a Face?"

* Dec. 1, 5 p.m., Beaumont Room, SHM. Marianne LaFrance, professor of psychology at Yale, will speak about "Frozen Smiles, Frozen Frowns."

* Dec. 8, 5 p.m., John Slade Ely House. Angus Trumble, curator of paintings and sculpture at the Yale Center for British Art, will discuss "Volte Face: The Head in the History of Face."

The exhibit, which will close Dec. 18, is supported through funding provided in part by the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, the John Slade Ely House and the Center for Contemporary Art. The exhibition and lecture series was also made possible by a gift from family, friends and colleagues in honor of the late Dr. Kenneth Bartwick, a surgical-pathologist at the Yale School of Medicine.

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