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JCC

Two Healing Narratives

Disease, Spirit, Art & Technology

Ruth Adams’ photographs force viewers to come face-to-face with her experience with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer that develops in the lymph nodes in the chest and then spreads. This form of cancer is not always terminal, yet the treatment is extensive, exhausting, painful and disheartening.

One self-portrait was created each day during her year-long treatment. “I wanted to document the transformation of a healthy woman... reveal my devastating decline... and my physical and spiritual recovery,” says Adams. One cannot escape her cancer experiences as she bombards audiences with 350 Polaroids that create a monumental installation measuring eight feet high by forty-five feet wide. Adams adds text to explain her “unremarkable” healing journey.

The chronological portraits document her sensations and emotions: weakness, nausea, pain, depression, anger, fear and joy. She presents the physical changes and treatments such as losing hair and weight, and injecting her stomach. In one image, she winces while looking at the needle and imagining “the next injection.” While encountering these symptoms and emotions, something else came to light, a metamorphosis she didn’t consider.

Adams didn’t anticipate the development of her inner-self. “These images reveal a rebirth... My spirit grew stronger and stronger... this body of work and text will show everyone how beautiful and powerful the soul is, even when fighting for life.” says Adams. “I have completed my treatments, am cancer free and want to show that cancer is not always a death sentence.” In the final image, she screams and gestures to celebrate her last treatment and new awakening.

Adams is an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky, where she teaches traditional, non-silver and digital photography. She received an MFA degree from the University of Miami and her BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She has exhibited across the United States and internationally; most recently at the Morlan Gallery, Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky; the Charles H. MacNider Art Museum, Mason City, Iowa; Gallery West, Alexandria, Virginia; and Centro Cultural Pablo de la Torriente Brau, Ciudad, de la Habana, Cuba. Her photographs are included in many private and public collections and she is active in the Society for Photographic Education.

Elaine Defibaugh’s artwork was inspired by surgery to correct her atrial septal defect (ASD). The atrial septum is the wall between the left and right atria (upper chambers) of the heart. There is a natural opening in this wall prior to birth and it usually closes naturally. When the opening fails to close, a child has ASD, which may go unnoticed for years.

To correct ASD, a large incision is made through the sternum (breastbone). Defibaugh was intimidated by this procedure - sawing her chest open to repair the heart. “They used a Dremel-like drill and hand saw to cut my breastbone - the scar is five inches long... the tools are like those used by any craftsman,” wrote Defibaugh. In her case, it was necessary to use tubes to temporarily re-route her blood through a pump (heart-lung bypass machine) which keeps the blood oxygenated, warm and flowing while repairing the heart.

As part of her recovery process, Defibaugh walked and created drawings in the countryside. These nature encounters led to visual associations between the human body and nature. Comparisons among tree roots, leaves, branches, the heart, lungs and medical technology emerged.

Defibaugh layers these new nature metaphors with X-rays, electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, cardiac catherizations and other diagnostic images she collected. The artwork and artist statement also reflect her initial fears, joys, and visions. During her operation, she recalls dream/vision encounters with ancestors and angels who calmed, instructed and protected her. The medical procedures and related experiences engage the full range of human experiences - rational and irrational. The operation and related encounters, combined with her artwork, all contributed to her holistic healing.

Elaine Defibaugh received her MFA degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and her BFA from East Texas University. She has worked as an adjunct lecturer/professor at RIT and is currently working as an artist, as part of the Chashama Subsidized Studio Space Program in New York City. Her exhibitions include the Franklin 54 Gallery, New York, New York; Biscayne Institute, Miami, Florida; KWAH, Key West, Florida; Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, New York; and Hallwalls Contemporary Art, Buffalo, New York.

Jamestown Community College’s Weeks Gallery presents

Two Healing NarrativesDisease, Spirit, Art & Technology

On Saturday, February 3, 2007 at 6:20 p.m., Ruth Adams and Elaine Defibaugh will present brief talks in the Weeks Gallery. An artist’s reception will follow at 7 p.m. in the Robert Lee Scharmann Theatre lobby; cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Greenwich Meantime (a Canadian Celtic band that mixes French Canadian folk music with African rhythms, rock and jazz) will perform in the Robert Lee Scharmann Theatre at 8 p.m.

Tickets: The Jamestown Campus FSA Box Office, 716-338-1187 JCC/FSA members $6, area students & seniors $8, general admission $10For details on this and other art programs, visit www.sunyjcc.edu/gallery

The exhibition is open from Monday, February 5, to Wednesday, March 14. Gallery hours: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The gallery is closed on all college holidays. These programs are generously funded by Jamestown Community College, JCC’s Faculty Student Association and the JCC Foundation.