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Printed in the Daily Nebraskan on Monday, March 29, 2004
Pain is part of art. There is almost a myth that enshrouds the artist as isolated and suffering physically, mentally or both. D.H. Lawrence had tuberculosis. Frida Kahlo was crippled in a devastating bus accident. Friedrich Nietzsche was plagued by illness and was a mental invalid the last years of his life. With this in mind, an art exhibit on pain doesn't seem all that out of the ordinary. The Web site painexhibit.com is an amalgamation of different art with themes that stem from suffering. However, Mark Collen, an artist and the Web site's founder, didn't start PAIN Exhibit to romanticize the notion of the suffering artist. He wants to create awareness about those who suffer from chronic pain. "Our mission is to give a voice to those who suffer in abject silence," he said. Myrna Spicer is one such survivor, who was forced into early retirement because of an accident. She now has pain so severe she needs a morphine pump in her stomach that continually supplies relief to her spine. Her piece featured on PAIN Exhibit is called Morphine Magic, a ceramics piece in the visions of a broken plate, sprinkled with bright colors and chaotic patterns. Before her accident, Spicer never had much time for art, but she now finds ceramics as a useful medium for expression. "When I'm having a lot of pain, I find that I use darker colors and do weirder things," she said. Spicer, a resident of Abilene, Kan., became interested in ceramics because of a local pottery shop, and in addition to suffering, her work reflects her interest in multicultural issues. "I find myself portraying people more often," she said. Spicer is just one of many artists featured on Collen's Web site. Other artistic themes on the Web site include "God and Religion," "Isolation and Imprisonment" and "Hope and Transformation." Collen started PAIN Exhibit in 2001 as a response to the years of undertreatment he endured for a peculiar infirmity. He suffered a herniated disk in a work accident, and a series of unsuccessful surgeries accumulated scar tissue around nerve endings in his spine, leaving him with an ailment that is incurable: pain. He said people sometimes give him disgusting looks when he parks in handicapped spots. People don't understand because chronic pain isn't a visible affliction. He said this is why the artwork on PAIN Exhibit is important. "Having chronic pain is a very isolating experience and finding other people who understand chronic pain is very comforting," he said. This is the first time in history an exhibit of this nature has been organized. The California Assembly of Local Arts Agencies (CALAA), a non-profit organization, is serving as an umbrella agency for the Web site. The immediate goal is to gain sponsorship to create a material exhibit that would tour the United States. The mission of PAIN Exhibit is to educate healthcare providers and the public about chronic pain through the affective quality of art. According to Collen, somewhere between 60 and 120 million Americans experience chronic pain, which disables more people than cancer and heart disease and costs the U.S. more than $90 billion per year in medical costs, disability payments and productivity. In a perfect world there would be no suffering and no need to create awareness about it, which is all artists like Collen want: to legitimize their pain, which is such a prominent part of their artistic inspiration. "The whole process (art) is very cathartic. It diffuses suicidal feelings and other destructive emotions," Collen said. --------------------------------------- |
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