Title : The art OF & FOR dermatology
Abstract:
The skin is a visible organ directly accessible to artists, whether painters, illustrators or sculptors. The skin has always been the subject of artistic representations, particularly in painting. Skin is everywhere, except in still life or landscape representations, and all variations of skin carnations can be recreated by the subtle blending of colors. And, because some painters have faithfully reproduced reality, there are paintings in which the pictorial skin shows dermatosis. Later, the a posteriori diagnosis of these dermatoses would be called iconodiagnosis. The talent of artists was also used to illustrate the first dermatology textbooks, and some dermatologists were artists themselves, drawing skin diseases to accompany their research and books. Today, art still serves dermatologists through visual literacy, where dermatologists train to look at and comment on works of art to enhance their visual acuity and ability to observe the skin, as well as through medical photography, useful for patient follow-up and teledermatology. But, art can also serve patients with dermatosis through cultural prescriptions (museum prescriptions recommended by WHO) and art therapy. Art is also proving a useful medium for dermatosis awareness and prevention campaigns, as well as for fighting against the stigmatization of patients suffering from displaying dermatoses. Finally, aesthetic dermatology can be considered as artistic dermatology, since dermatologists resculpt patients' faces and bodies to make them more harmonious. So, if dermatology is an art in its own right, art in the broadest sense is intrinsically linked to skin and dermatology, and as such, all forms of art can be at the service of dermatology. So shouldn't we be talking about dermatology?
Audience Take Away Notes:
- Opening of the mind around how art is linked to dermatology and how visual literacy course could help the dermatologists
