Visual art can provide meaning to what many with dementia experience as an ever increasingly meaningless life. In my opinion, art connects people to their culture and to their community. It gives meaning to life after diagnosis and it's meaning and stimulus that people living with Alzheimer's like me so dearly crave. I enjoy the simple visual pleasure of art appreciation, having failed miserably due to arthritis, at the physical taking part by trying to improve my practical skills of sketching and painting.
As a child I used to frequent the local Museum's and Art Galleries at week-ends.We were very fortunate in that the City where we lived, had a marvellous inherited collection of world famous works.Viewing these collections sowed the seeds of my appreciation,I was in awe of the beauty and craft that was on show.One painting in particular had a profound effect on me as a child,I never tired of standing, sometimes for long periods of time and being lost in that painting. It was Salvador Dali's 'The Christ of St John of the Cross'. As a child of seven the religious significance of the picture was lost to me, it was purely the realistic panoramic effect of a man suspended in the sky overlooking the world.Magical.
Since my diagnosis I have taken advantage of the new computer technology of the Internet and it's potential for viewing wonderful pieces of art from all over the world. I appreciate that the ambience of a museum or gallery is missing when surfing art examples on the web. However there are myriad styles to help stimulate the mind's various moods and emotions in the interpretation of the visual senses triggered. Art reveals to us the essence of things,the essence of our existence. I also find comfort in viewing certain art works.Many I find calming when I am feeling agitated,afraid or anxious. I find it very theraputic and hope that I can continue to benefit from these marvellous visual experiences,even into the latter stages of my inevitable cognitive decline .
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