Self Portraits of a Declining Brain
William Utermohlen is latest artist to be honored at the GV Art Gallery in London, with an event that has an emotional purpose that is near and dear to the hearts of many. Utermohlen spent the last twelve years of his life battling Alzheimer’s, a degenerative neurological disease that slowly took away his ability to do what he was most passionate about: his art.
At the event, his widow spoke to the many supporters, saying “He died in 2007, but really he was dead long before that. Bill died in 2000, when the disease meant he was no longer able to draw.”
This exhibit is known as William Utermohlen: Artistic decline through Alzheimer’s, as it explores the relationship between Utermohlen’s artwork and the progression and struggle with the disease.
Looking at his pieces as his disease progressed, a clear change is visible. As he slowly lost control over his movements, his composition and techniques changed as he was forced to abandon oils for easier-to-use watercolours and pencils. One thing that did not change throughout time, however, was the sheer mastery and vision displayed by has passion for the content of his pieces.
His paintings display a rarely seen insight into a mind effected by Alzheimer’s, as his struggle and frustration are imminent. Also changed by the progression of time and the disease were his subjects. He began to focus on self portraits and looming dark doorways in the backgrounds
His widow commented that, “it was as if he knew he was going to a very dark place and he knew he couldn’t do anything about it. By the end he couldn’t even recognise his own paintings… that was the saddest thing”.
Rarely does one get the opportunity to chronicle their own experience with mental decline. Even more rarely do we get to share and observe that troubled journey.
This art is that tale.
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thedailywhat:
McBacklash of the Day: McDonald’s this week become the latest fast-food giant to learn an important lesson about trying to force a Twitter hashtag meme based on a marketing campaign.
That lesson? Don’t.
You’d think Wendy’s failed attempt to make #HeresTheBeef happen would have prevented McDonald’s from making the same mistake with #McDStories, but you’d think wrong.
After Mickey D’s official Twitter feed tweeted an self-congratulatory quote attributed to a “McD potato supplier” (since deleted) along with the hashtag #McDStories, it didn’t take long for Twitter users to turn the trend-forcing on its face and offer up their own, less flattering “McD Stories.”
#McDStories quickly became a gushing stream of badvertising. Until this morning, that is — when it turned into a gushing stream of news stories about how badly McDonald’s failed.
[dailydot / @natebramble.]
Twitter fail.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lybq8a86sw1qzpwi0o1_1280.jpg)
McBacklash of the Day: McDonald’s this week become the latest fast-food giant to learn an important lesson about trying to force a Twitter hashtag meme based on a marketing campaign.
That lesson? Don’t.
You’d think Wendy’s failed attempt to make #HeresTheBeef happen would have prevented McDonald’s from making the same mistake with #McDStories, but you’d think wrong.
After Mickey D’s official Twitter feed tweeted an self-congratulatory quote attributed to a “McD potato supplier” (since deleted) along with the hashtag #McDStories, it didn’t take long for Twitter users to turn the trend-forcing on its face and offer up their own, less flattering “McD Stories.”
#McDStories quickly became a gushing stream of badvertising. Until this morning, that is — when it turned into a gushing stream of news stories about how badly McDonald’s failed.
[dailydot / @natebramble.]
Twitter fail.
He did the right thing. But it was a brave thing because he had to take on the muscle of the oil industry, including the American Petroleum Institute, which is their association, their lobbying group. The members of Congress who had expedited this — trying to railroad it through under an arbitrary deadline — received $42 million from the oil industry, the fossil fuel industry, and they were riding it through.
It was because Obama had people power behind him, that he could do the right thing. You know, Bill McKibben, the great naturalist writer and his organization called 350.org, and the National Resources Defense Council brought thousands of people to Washington to show the President that he could do the right thing and they would have his back. Franklin Roosevelt said to the union guys, you know, ‘Make me do the right thing. Go out and build popular support so I can do the right thing.’ Lyndon Johnson put his arm around Martin Luther King and said ‘Dr. King, go out there and make it possible for me to do the right thing.’
…The issue in the (Keystone XL) Pipeline — there were lots of technical issues — but the real issue was the integrity of the political process. There was collusion between high government officials and the (oil) industry to get this through before the public had a chance to be heard. They stopped it, and they also gave the President the ammunition to fight the right battles. He could not have done it without people power. That’s one reason why Occupy Wall Street is so important right now: to build the support for change.
