Skip to contents
In This Issue:
There’s an art to the Shapiro Cardiovascular Center.
A group of donors, staff and key administrators has been hard at work selecting contemporary pieces that mirror the revolutionary care and research of BWH care providers and scientists and promote healing. The pieces promise to be thought-provoking, too.
“The theme of this collection of art for the Shapiro Center is innovation, which we chose because it reflects the forward-thinking mentality of the Brigham,” said Deborah Curran, senior director of Development. “We selected pieces that are fresh, lively and diverse.”
More than 20 original works of art, including acrylic and oil paintings, aluminum sculptures and a permanent video installation, will be placed throughout the Shapiro Center.
“We believe that this collection challenges convention, promotes dialogue and reveals new perspectives,” said Michelle Rheaume, art coordinator at BWH.
The artists come from all over the world and have different ethnic backgrounds. “Each of the works has its own story, and we hope that they resonate with patients and visitors,” said Elizabeth Erdreich-White, a consultant who worked closely with the group selecting the pieces and helping to define and create a theme.
One piece in the collection is a commissioned painting by artist Tom Bob called “CJS/376.” It connects graphic images of Carl Shapiro’s professional, philanthropic and personal life. The final work will include more than 300 overlapping images, such as the initials of his three daughters and a button from Kay Windsor, the women’s apparel company Shapiro founded. An accompanying key will hang next to the painting in the Shapiro Family Center so that viewers can find the images.
“This bold and colorful painting reflects the brilliant complexity of my father’s life,” said Ronny Zinner, daughter of Carl and Ruth Shapiro and president of the Shapiro Family Foundation. “If we look carefully at this piece, we discover clues to his passions and interests, his family, his spirit of giving and the ways they connect to form a whole.”
Through the opening of the Shapiro Cardiovascular Center, BWH Bulletin will highlight works from the collection and the artists’ descriptions of them. When the center opens, patients and employees can pick up a brochure detailing the collection at the information desk in the Shapiro lobby.
“These descriptions make art more accessible,” Curran said. “People can feel the story and understand and appreciate the technique of the artist in creating each piece. All of this helps to foster healing, and it gives families and visitors something to focus on and talk about while they are in the hospital.”
by Joan Gold
Each week through the opening of the Shapiro Cardiovascular Center, BWH Bulletin will feature a work of art from the center’s collection. More than 20 contemporary pieces will be displayed throughout the building to promote healing, conversation and thought.
Joan Gold’s “Conception” and “Anticipation” are mixed media collages on canvas. In the artist’s words:
The focus of my work is luminous color. It is a celebration of life.
When I named ‘Conception’ and ‘Anticipation,’ I gave all of that series of paintings titles that ended with ‘ion.’ I looked up that suffix in my dictionary and found it as a word in itself, and in part of the definition were the words ‘radiant energy.’ That is a perfect description of the human and universal quality (attributes) that I strive to make visible as I construct a painting.
Mood and feeling can be described by the interplay between light and color and expressed by some combination of color and paint application. The visual arts can portray joy, balance, harmony, beauty and serenity among many other things. Because there is so much struggle and difficulty in every life, those are the qualities I need to provide balance in my own life and which I want to offer to my viewer. Solace, comfort, and cheer. Even the words are good.
In my studio, with my materials, I make a world as I want it: a safe place full of color and light.”