Aesthetics of Health: The Storyteller Portraits

The Storyteller Portraits is an exhibition comprised of works informed by the Department of Art and Art History class Aesthetics of Health, taught and led by Megan Hildebrandt and Dr. Susan Rather. The class explored the intersection of art and healthcare from the perspectives of an artist (Hildebrandt), who has creative experience in clinical settings, and an art historian (Rather), who believes that basic engagement with art history can enhance the capabilities that 21st-century collaborations between healthcare and museum education professionals seek to cultivate.

The class often engaged directly with works of art at the Blanton Museum, systematically deepening students’ powers of observation, description, analysis, interpretation, and communication. More unusually, the class considered the value of tolerance for ambiguity, whether for artists, historians, healthcare professionals, or citizens of the world.

At regular intervals throughout the semester, students created art with and for invited patients, caregivers, and clinical staff, fostering empathetic connections in a community-based practice. Each Storyteller Portrait session was designed as a collaborative, supportive group experience, allowing student participants to listen to a guest patient or caregiver’s narrative while creating a representation of the storyteller.
 
This exhibition is presented as part of Fieldwork Projects, an initiative led by the Visual Arts Center that provides a platform for translating in-classroom learning to public, in-gallery exhibitions and experiences.