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| Alchemy Print on Metal Virgil Wong |
Time travel self-portraits may change how people think about their
health.
A multidisciplinary exhibit at Virginia Tech’s Perspective Gallery
illustrates how art and technology can combine to help people visualize how
their health choices affect their physical being. Virgil Wong’s Medical
Avatar: Time Travel Visualizations for Transformative Health explores
the imaging of health data and its influence on patient-physician interaction
and behavior change.
The exhibit is a
collaboration of the Perspective Gallery and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
and Research Institute, with funding from the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and
Technology.
Medical Avatar: Time Travel
Visualizations for Transformative Health is on display through Thursday,
October 18, at the Perspective Gallery on the second floor of the Squires
Student Center. The
Perspective Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12 noon to 9 p.m. and
Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. The gallery is closed Mondays. The exhibit will
also be on display at the
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute.in
Roanoke, Virginia, from Thursday, November 20, to late March, 2015. A reception to meet the artist will be held at Perspective Gallery Friday August 29, 2014 from 5 to 7 p.m. All events are free an open to the public.
Medical Avatar: Time Travel
Visualizations for Transformative Health includes digital self-portraits of
people with chronic diseases based on their self-tracked symptom data. Using a
mobile app developed by Wong, patients create personalized avatars and medical
timelines to more effectively communicate their medical histories to their
doctors. These technological self-portraits, including shapes of various sizes
and colors to represent specific symptoms over time, capture what the patient
feels in his or her body and display those emotions for others to see.
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| Symptom Portrait #1 Epilepsy Print on Metal Virgil Wong |
Wong is a New York City-based artist and cognition technology
researcher at Columbia University. His research suggests that patient
visualizations of the future effects of smoking and obesity can motivate
patients to change their health behavior. The exhibit also includes art based
on broader epidemiological data from southwest Virginia and regression analyses
that predict possible states of future health.
Gallery visitors are given the opportunity to track their own health
information and paint their own medical time travel self-portraits based on
this data.
The exhibit is curated by Robin Boucher, Student Centers and Activities
arts program director. Boucher was Wong’s high school art teacher in 1990 and
is pleased to welcome him back to southwest Virginia for his exhibit.
The partners:
·
Operating at the nexus of arts, design, engineering, and science, the Institute for Creativity, Arts,
and Technology (ICAT) is
composed of faculty and student researchers from multiple disciplines coming
together in a living laboratory that fosters creativity and promotes critical
reflection. This unique research environment supports ICAT’s mission to forge a
pathway between trans-disciplinary research and artistic output, scientific and
commercial discovery, and educational innovation.
·
The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research
Institute leverages Virginia Tech’s world-class strength in basic sciences,
bioinformatics, and engineering with Carilion Clinic’s highly experienced
medical staff and rich history in medical education. Virginia Tech Carilion
improves human health and quality of life by providing leadership in medical
education and biomedical and clinical research.
·
Perspective Gallery is committed to exhibiting the finest quality
fine art with a special interest in providing art viewing opportunities which
pique curiosity and create bridges within the academic and world community. The
Perspective Gallery enriches the college experience by exhibiting artwork which
expands a student’s conceptual world.
090514-dsa-wongexhibit
Photo:
090514-dsa-medicalselfie 96 dpi
Time travel self-portraits may change how people think about their
health.
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Written by Sandra Broughton Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications VT DSA
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