Exploring Expression
This week I looked at the use of art as a medium and pain tracking methods for patients.
I specifically looked at the Pain Exhibit, which is an online non-profit art exhibit that is a collection of artworks about the various aspects of pain that an individual may experience. I focused on analyzing the artworks and different ways I could categorize them to identify patterns in expressions, such as abstract vs figurative, use of the human body, and differences between representations of localized pain vs whole body pain.
I also began looking at resources that are available for patients to log and track their pain from online resources, both digital and paper printouts, and mobile apps.
01 Pain and Art as Expression
One of the difficulties that patients with chronic pain experience is the feeling that others (physicians, family, and friends) do not fully comprehend their pain, both in terms of the actual existence and the degree. This inability to express can be mentally exhausting. Looking for alternatives to express has become a common practice with the use of art becoming a common medium of expression. The use of art as a medium provides an individual who suffers from chronic pain an outlet to contextualize what they are feeling in a tangible way that allows others to see what they are experiencing.
“It’s often much more difficult to put pain into words, which is one of the big problems with pain. You can’t articulate it, and you can’t se e it. There is not question people often try to illustrate their pain.”
- Allan I. Basbaum, editor-in-chief of Pain, the medical journal of The International Association for the Study of Pain.
One of the most famous artists to visualize her experiences with pain and suffering was Frida Kahlo. Her depictions of the physical and mental pain she experienced as a result of her injuries as a teenager, multiple operations, and miscarriages, has been studied and is used by medical professionals are a way to talk and teach about pain.
While performing research, I came across the Pain Exhibit, which is an online non-profit art exhibit that is a collection of artworks about the various aspects of pain that an individual may experience. Its mission is to be a visual tool to educate healthcare providers and the public about chronic pain and give a voice to those suffering from chronic pain. Each artwork is by an individual who has some form of chronic pain.
Using this resource, I focused on analyzing the artworks and different methods of expression. I categorized the various artworks to identify patterns in expressions, such as abstract vs figurative, use of the human body, and differences between representations of localized pain vs whole body pain.
The following are diagrams I created to help me identify these patterns:
From performing this exercise, I discovered a few emerging patterns:
1. There is a balance between abstraction and reality
I found that most of the artworks presented sat in the middle between abstraction and reality. They would utilize visuals that were recognizable, such as a body or face, but would distort or abstract the form. There was a small grouping that focused on purely abstract representations using geometric forms, as well as a few purely figurative representations.
I believe that the artists gravitate toward abstraction because of the invisible nature of the pain they are experiencing. Because there is not standard representation or tangible representation of pain, the artist has more freedom to project their personalized representations. In addition, I believe abstraction is utilized because pain is experienced both physically and mentally. While you are experiencing pain in the physical sense of the sensations, you are at the same time experiencing mental anguish as a result of these physical sensation. These mental sensations are individualized and, once again, invisible, not having a standard tangible representation.
2. Patterns and commonality in representation
While the artists may not have a standard representation to build off of and are able to personalize their representations of the pain they are experiencing, there is still a pattern of consistent visual and metaphorical language that appears. These include the use of the following:
- The human body or a specific area of the body
- Distortion or fracturing of the body and face
- Distortion or fracturing of the surrounding environment
- Dream-like states
- Self-portraits were common
- Warm colors, such as reds
- Sharp or jagged forms
- Fire or fire-like forms
- Radiating forms
For whatever reasons this occurs, it demonstrates that there is similarity and common ground in the way that pain is experienced by multiple people. This makes me believe that there is an opportunity to develop an expressive toolkit that would be applicable to a variety of individuals who live with chronic pain. I think it would be interesting to compare how people with chronic pain visualize vs people who are experiencing localized acute pain to further explore the similarities and differences that are used in the expression of pain.
02 Logging Pain
Last week, I looked at the common methods used in a medical setting to evaluate pain, so this week I wanted to look at the methods available for patients to track and log their pain at home. I focused on looking at free or low-cost resources, such as apps that had a small one-time fee, to explore the resources that could be used by a wider range of demographics.
Web-based Resources
One common tracking method is online resources that patients are able to digitally log their pain. I looked at the American Chronic Pain Association, which provides a range of online tools and printouts for the patient to log different elements of their pain.
Sources
Courtney C, O’Hearn M, Franck C (2017). Frida Kahlo: Portrait of Chronic Pain, Physical Therapy, Volume 97, Issue 1, 90–96
Parker-Pope T. (2008). Pain as an Art Form. New York Times. https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/pain-as-an-art-form/
