Before the Let’s Look meeting yesterday, JoAnn Sanditz spoke with me about her experience with the program so far. Having worked with the Alzheimer’s Association and as a docent for the St. Louis Art Museum for over twenty years, she was a perfect candidate to instruct the workshop and has enjoyed pairing her two interests. She told me about the development, challenges, and joys of the program. She hopes there will be more St. Louis programs, which incorporate Art, for people with Alzheimer’s in the future, noting that with the growing number of aging baby boomers, creating social opportunities for those with dementia is an increasing issue for the nation.

This week, the Lets Look participants discussed the art at Family Partners Adult Day Center. Although looking at reproductions is never as thrilling as viewing the art at the Pulitzer, we have found that sometimes it can be very helpful because we can touch the painting reproduction and trace the various elements of composition, as well as point out small details that are easier to spot if we can get close to the painting.The theme of this week was “Mary,” and we discussed three paintings in which she featured prominently. The first painting was The Marriage of the Virgin by Master of the Orcagnesque Misericordia. The Lets Look participants were enthralled by the beautiful colors of the painting and the stories that JoAnn told about the figures in the image. The next painting discussed was the Madonna and Child by Bartolomeo Vivarini. In addition to talking about the content of the painting, the participants had the opportunity to share about their own faith and religious beliefs.

The last painting discussed was Giaquinto’s Saint Helena and the Emperor Constantine Presented to the Holy Trinity by the Virgin Mary. In our classroom at Family Partners, we have a bird aviary with many finches that sits directly behind us while we talk. When we were discussing this work of art, Tom astutely noticed the parallel between the dove at the top of the painting and the birds directly behind. It had the effect of the sky continuing into a heaven of birds! Although the context of Family Partners is very different from the Pulitzer, the environment still interacts with the painting in unique and surprising ways!

This week, one of the favorite paintings discussed was Judith Displaying the Head of Holefernes by Luca Giordano. We used the “thought bubble” to imagine what would be running through the heads of the subjects in the painting.
What are the soldiers thinking?
“They probably didn’t like Holefernes anyway.” -Bob
“Whew!” -Tom
“I want to go home!” -Dorothy
What is Judith thinking?
“I told you so!” -Brenda
“Get out of town and never come back!” -Chuck
“This is a new beginning for us!” -Tom
Judith was a heroine for her town, and we talked about our own personal heroes. Here is what the group came up with:
-God
-Dolly Parton
-Martin Luther King Jr.
-Barack Obama
-Michelle Obama

Week 1 The first week of the Alzheimer’s program focused on introductions to one another and to the Pulitzer.

Week 2.Week 2 initiated our exploration of the art. To begin, Carol led a seated movement exercise that incorporated both gesture and music to warm up bodies and minds for the discussion of Old Masters. The first piece discussed was Joachim Wtewael’s Cephalus and Procris (The Death of Procris). JoAnn led a discussion on content, composition, and lines. The group participated in series of activities about the art, including “thought bubbles” and “heart bubbles” to imagine what Cephalus and Procris were thinking and feeling. JoAnn and I also acted out the scene in order to have a 3-D visual of the painting. The group also used a storyboard to understand sequential storytelling and the peak dramatic moment. The second painting discussed was Jean Baptiste Grouse’s The Laundress. JoAnn led the discussion of the content and composition, and also a dialogue about the depiction of women today versus women from the time of the Laundress. The group looked at modern magazine ads of women and compared them to the painting. Carol also reenacted the painting using a bar of soap and a bowl.
The group prepared for their meeting with Cole Elementary in 2 weeks by having their pictures taken and creating a mini bio of themselves to send to the Cole students. For the bios, participants answered these questions: What is your favorite food? What is your favorite color? What is your favorite place at home? What makes you laugh?

Week 3. The participants spent the first few minutes talking with Johnathan Loesch, the Cole Elementary School art teacher. Third, Fouth, and Fifth-graders from Cole will be coming in week 4 to join the adults with Alzheimer’s; each child will be paired with an adult “buddy.” We gave the adults pictures of the children, mini bios the children wrote about themselves, and a drawing that the children had created especially for their new buddy.

The first painting we discussed was Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife by Paolo Domenico. We discussed the content and composition of the painting, and then used the “thought bubbles” and “heart bubbles” to analyze what the subjects were thinking and feeling. Carol passed around a bag of fabrics to generate discussion about the various textures in the painting. We then discussed countenance and facial expression in the paintings by looking at a pair of Grecian masks and also looking at cartoon faces of expressions. We also acted out the painting to have a 3-D example of the art.

The other painting discussed was the Mary Magdalene by Andrea Vaccaro. JoAnn led the discussion about content and composition, and then we used the thought and heart bubbles to analyze the emotion of the painting.

Today at 12:30pm, the adults with Alzheimer’s met the Cole Elementary third, fourth, and fifth-graders for the first time. The Cole students had made special name tags, collages of cardboard, yarn, and photos, for all of the adults, which they presented to them upon arrival. Then, all of the pairs gathered together in front of the Water Court and had timed discussion, based on prompts that Carol, the director of Metro Theater Company and a main instructor of Let’s Look, provided. Two prompts were “Talk about a favorite animal or pet,” and “Talk about someone you love.”

The group then built a tower out of wooden blocks to simulate the Pulitzer’s architectural elements and to experiment with Sculpture. They came up with a variety of names for their block tower, including “New York” and “Factory.” In the following video, you can see two pairs of art buddies take their turns adding to the wooden block landscape.

http://www.vimeo.com/3926512

The group then moved to sit in front of Nicolas Regnier’s Self-Portrait with a Portrait on an Easel. JoAnn, a docent from St. Louis Art Museum and Carol’s partnering teacher, led a discussion about the content and composition of the Old Masters artwork, and then the group discussed how one would make a painting 400 years ago. JoAnn displayed a kit about making paint from minerals and plants. Then Carol led an activity that included dressing the Cole students up in costumes from the era of Nicolas Regnier, and positioning them into different poses to convey different emotions and attitudes.

In our second week of Let’s Look: Making Connections at the Pulitzer, the group participated in a warm-up of music and movement, followed by a spirited discussion of two of the Old Masters pieces. Everyone was eager to learn the history behind the paintings and create their own stories to explain what they were seeing.  Utilizing a “thought bubble” proved to be a particularly fruitful tool for exploring the scene depicted in Cephalus and Procris (The Death of Procris) by Joachim Wtewael.  When asked to put words in Cephalus or Procris’ thought bubble, some of the insightful responses from our participants included:
 “I will always love you.” – Tom
“I need to call my lawyer!” –Bill
“He might have been telling her how beautiful her body is.” –Dorothy
 “I’m sorry I doubted you.” –Chuck

Participants also had the opportunity to talk about The Laundress, by Jean Baptiste Greuze. Discussion focused on the differences in modern-day depictions of women compared to the portrayal of women in the time of the Jean Baptise Greuze.

Lastly, participants had their pictures taken and created a mini-bio of themselves to send to a child at Cole Elementary. These children will be joining their older adult “art-buddy” in several upcoming classes.

Participants were enthusiastic to learn about the paintings and meet new friends.  I was partnered with a man who was eager to be a part of this group.  He was telling me about his brothers and sisters, serving time in WW2, and explaining the activities he does to keep himself in shape and healthy at this stage of his life.
     This is a group of people so excited to share and so excited to learn!  Although we did not start to examine the paintings, we started to interact with the space and explore what it can offer to those who visit this show.

Without memories, we would live in the moment and experience each day as though we were an infant–a blank slate. No one wants to lose those who they love or have loved to anything. Losing them by forgetting they existed is harsher than one can imagine. Many people deal with this daily in the form of a disease called Alzheimer’s.

Today, a group of people in early stages of Alzheimer’s came to the Pulitzer with a program called Let’s Look. As they introduced themselves to the group, I stood and listened to each person recall what they could about their life. I met a file clerk, an attorney, a widow, a grandmother, a parent, a teacher, an architect, and a World War II Veteran.

However, I got to sit down with one man and go in more depth than a general introduction. I learned of his interest in square dancing. He told me he knows nothing about art but is interested in learning more. We moved on to discuss his Slovakian grandparents and how he lived with them, his parents and his brother in one house. Then he revealed his conservative upbringing. He felt that manner of child raising had caused him to be less social in life.

I asked, “Do you think this group is a good thing because it allows you to be more social?”

He said, “Yes, but sometimes I wonder if it is too late.”

A common strength of both adults with Alzheimer’s disease and elementary school-aged children is the profound ability to live in the moment. Lets Look: Making Connections at the Pulitzer seeks to build upon this strength; our program’s fundamental goal is to create “moments of joy.” We believe that exploring art with friends from different generations and backgrounds will create these moments of joy.

Lets Look incorporates art history, storytelling, gesture, and movement to engage participants with the Old Masters works. The fresh perspective of children, coupled with the wisdom of adults, will provide new insights into the art, while creating bonds between the different generations. In the weeks to come, we hope to see many positive moments grow from these relationships and experiences!