You Can See The Progression Of Alzheimer’s Reflected In His Self-Portraits, And It’s Chilling
http://blog.thealzheimerssite.com/cs-self-portraits-progression/?
In 1995, artist William Utermohlen was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. His unique response to this life-threatening situation was to create self-portraits. He did so to understand himself and the progression of the disease in him. Over the span of five years, he created self-portraits of himself that clearly show deterioration in cognition. Patricia, Utermohlens widow, explains that it demonstrates an artists struggle to come to terms with his mind slipping away slowly.
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From the Youtube link: Published on Jul 9, 2015
When American artist William Utermohlen was diagnosed with Alzheimers in 1995, he decided to make the best use of his limited time and memory. He began to use his art to understand himself better for five years, he drew portraits of himself before he completely forgot how to draw.
Through this unique series of self-portraits, viewers can observe the London-based artists quiet descent into dementia. As the terrible disease took control of his mind, his world began to tilt and his perspectives flattened. The details in his paintings melted away and they became more abstract. At times, he seemed aware of the technical flaws in his work, but he simply could not figure out how to correct them.