The Art of the Human Body | February 2016
Baylor College of Medicine
Course Goals:
- To make detailed observations and improve visual analysis
- To communicate observations more effectively
- Identify how emotions and bias can affect objective observations
Objectives:
-Demonstrate visual analysis skills through accurate and detailed descriptions of art and clinical images
-Increased comfort speaking and writing about visual observations
-Develop strategies for dealing with ambiguity and evaluating diverse interpretations
-Demonstrate empathetic communication in the discussion of the human body
-Increase student engagement with the arts and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Close Observation & Accurate Description – How to Look at Images
Session Overview:
-Discuss the role of visual analysis in clinical practice
-Develop questioning strategies for looking at art
-Practice close observation and accurate description in the galleries
5:30 pmMeet in Lobby of Audrey Jones Beck Building (5601 Main Street)
Welcome & Course Overview
(Location: Farish Class Room; Lower Level of Beck Building next to café space)
5:40 pmArt and the Body
Kelley Magill, Ph.D. (University Programs Specialist, MFAH)
6:00 pmGallery Activity in Large Groups:
How to Look at Art: Portraiture to Abstraction
7:10 pmGallery Activity in Small Groups: How to Look at Art (Impressionist Galleries)
7:30pmClass Adjourns
HomeworkOnline Evaluation and Reflection
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Gathering Evidence – How to Look at Sculpture
Session Overview:
-Practice questioning strategies for looking at three dimensional art
-Learn drawing techniques that promote close observation
-Gather evidence (observations), make connections, and pose questions through art to form an interpretation
5:30 pmMeet inFarish Classroom (Lower Level of Beck Building, next to Café Express)
Introduction: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
5:50 pmGallery Activity in Large Groups
How to Look at Sculpture: Naturalism to Abstraction (Beck Building)
6:30 pmSmall Group Activity (Law Building: Arts of Asia)
How to Look at Sculpture: Arts of Asia, Africa, and Ancient Americas (Law Building)
6:50 pm“Rounds” (each group presents, whole group discusses)
7:30 pmClass Adjourns
Homework – Suggested Reading:
Rachel Pearson, “How Doctors Can Confront Racial Bias in Medicine,” Scientific American (
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Understanding Bias
Session Overview:
-Discuss depictions of the human form in art
-Evaluate multiple interpretations for an image based on close observation
-Identify cultural ideals and biases
5:30 pmInteractive Lecture: Picturing the Body
(Location:Farish Class Room; Lower Level of Beck Building next to café space)
5:50 pmGallery Activity in Large Groups
Contingent Beauty: Contemporary Art from Latin America
6:30 pmSmall Group Activity
Contingent Beauty: Contemporary Art from Latin America
6:50pm“Rounds” (each group presents, whole group discusses)
7:30 pmClass Adjourns
Homework – Suggested Reading:
Ricardo Nuila, TEDx video on Value of Storytelling in Medicine:
Ricardo Nuila, “Tunk,” Camera Obscura(see pdf of article here:
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Constructing a Narrative: Images that Inspire Storytelling and Empathy
Session Overview
-Gather evidence (observations), make connections, and pose questions through art to form an interpretation of a narrative subject
-Practice a collaborative process for constructing a narrative through art
-Explore the role of empathy and aesthetic force, the effect that an image can have on a viewer
5:30 pmMeet inFarish Classroom (Lower Level of Beck Building, next to Café Express)
5:40 pmGallery Activity in Large Groups: Narrative in Art
6:10 pmGallery Activity in Small Groups (Early Modern European Art; Upper Beck Building)
6:40 pm“Rounds” (each group presents, whole group discusses)
7:30pm Class Adjourns
Homework: Final Class Evaluation and Online Survey