Medical Art

Took Mrs G to the local hospital this morning... not an emergency, just a scheduled ultrasound on a poorly foot.

Not one to miss an obvious cliché joke I had to ask the ultrasound lady while she was scanning my wife's foot if she could tell if it was a boy or a girl. Ultrasound lady had clearly heard obvious cliché joke a thousand times before because she answered "It's twins... they shouldn't be there, that's why your wife's foot is hurting..." Touché ultrasound lady, touché.

In the foyer of this hospital if you look up, you see this wonderful, abstract sculpture/glass installation spreading across the ceiling. Which lead to me pondering all day just exactly what is the connection between hospitals and art. Specifically art which is often highly abstract, even avant-garde sometimes. Every hospital I've been in has a penchant for this, and even the designs/architecture of the hospitals themselves are often very adventurous. It's a curious thing n'est pas?

Maybe it's because medical science and pure expressive art are (rationally speaking), sooooo far apart that in some weird way they've (metaphorically speaking), 'wrapped-around' and come closer together as a consequence, or maybe because the doctors and practitioners want to be reminded that medical science actually is an art...

... or maybe they just like pretty things hanging from the ceiling.

Answers on a postcard please :)

C