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Migraine Art Migraine and Painting Delia Malchert
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 Dougie Kinnear |
Creighton Michael |
Delia Malchert
Delia Malchert, Scintillating scotoma, 2002. © 2004 Delia Malchert (http://www.migraene-aura.de/galerie/galerie4.htm, October 25, 2002)
Delia Malchert, Scintillating scotoma, 2002. © 2004 Delia Malchert (http://www.migraene-aura.de/galerie/galerie4.htm, October 25, 2002)
Delia Malchert, Scintillating scotoma, 2002. © 2004 Delia Malchert (http://www.migraene-aura.de/galerie/galerie4.htm, October 25, 2002)
"Through the contact to a member of the Migraine Aura Forum, I received an inquiry from the neurophysiologist Markus A. Dahlem who lives in Scotland at present, whether I was willing to represent my scintillating scotoma graphically for his website.
All three pictures represent visual symptoms of a fortification. The one in the middle shows the perception of the symptoms with closed eyes. The disorder usually starts with a point-like spot, somewhere in the centre of the visual field, which gradually expands into a jagged rim scintillating as it rotates. In my experience, the scintillating and darkening increased to a visual disorder almost leading to a temporary blindness. In this, a complete loss of vision in restricted point-like areas could be observed as well. The disorder, which I noted already several times, lasts between 30 minutes and two hours. Sometimes, it is followed by a phase of migraine-like headaches."
(Email to Klaus Podoll, December 2, 2002)
Delia Malchert, Animated fortification spectrum, 2002. © 2004 Delia Malchert
"The three pictures, as well as an animation produced by myself on their graphical basis, are the attempt at a representation of the migraine aura phenomenon as photo-realistic as possible. The artistic aspect doesn't play the major role in it. Unfortunately, the glaring dazzle effect of a scintillating scotoma can only be reproduced imperfectly. (My father, who suffers more frequently from scintillating scotoma than myself, compared it to a state which he experienced immediately following narcosis. The brightness of this light, especially with closed eyes, reminds me as well of a near-death state, which I experienced 25 years ago in the course of endocarditis lenta: I supposed to float towards the ceiling in a wonderfully gleaming bright light. However, contrary to these border experiences, with scintillating scotoma one does not have the positive feeling of floating or being carried. It is irritating and annoying rather than wonderful, although due to its effect completely transcending everyday-life perception it of course doesn't lack a certain aesthetical fascination, which can offer inspirations for artistic production.) The defects of the visual field, which at first only affect a small, punctiform part of the field of vision and hardly strike, before this phenomenon expands more and more and completely prevents a handling as close to reality as possible of the visually perceived environment or a concentrated working with visual media, can hardly be represented realistically."
(Email to Klaus Podoll, March 7, 2003)
Delia Malchert, Scintillating scotoma, 2003. © 2004 Delia Malchert
"Shortly after a scintillating scotoma, which I experienced on New Year's eve 2003, I produced from very fresh memory a computer graphic representation. It shows the partial defect of the visual field, which I didn't manage to represent satisfactorily in my previous pictures."
(Email to Klaus Podoll, June 21, 2004)
Delia Malchert, Aknathen Sphere, 2002. © 2004 Delia Malchert
"The picture 'Aknathen Sphere' arose from a drawing made by myself with coloured pencils in the early 90s, and which I recently projected on a sphere by ray tracing. (I got inspired to do this by minimalistic music of the opera 'Aknathen' by the contemporary composer Philip Glass.)"
(Email to Klaus Podoll, December 2, 2002)
Delia Malchert, Gold Moon, 2001. © 2004 Delia Malchert
"As for the two graphics 'Aknathen Sphere' and 'Gold Moon', I wish to let you know that they were not produced deliberately as representation of a scintillating scotoma, but they contain elements akin to it (as for example a jagged edge) and hence seemed suitable to me as demonstrations. One, of course, cannot exclude that in their production migraine aura has played a role subconsciously after all."
(Email to Klaus Podoll, March 7, 2003)
Delia Malchert, Fractal, 2002. © 2004 Delia Malchert
"The fractal graphically modified by myself, however, represents a conscious attempt at visualizing the disquieting effect of this visual disturbance. The fractal, in my view, is particularly suited for a model of this phenomenon, because in both order emerges from chaos. Both are borderlands between order and chaos, states from which something new develops and organizes, similar to many phenomena of nature when developments occur, like cloud formations or growth processes of plants. Eventually, the animate form in nature lapses into non-form - an organic becoming and vanishing."
(Email to Klaus Podoll, March 7, 2003)
Delia Malchert, Winter, 2004. © 2005 Delia Malchert
"As final picture, you see the graphic processing of the photograph of a winterly sunset, which I have surrounded with a border akin to migraine aura. An email girlfriend of mine, who also suffers from scintillating scotoma, asked me whether it was the conscious representation of an aura. This question is hard to answer: During the process of production, I mostly let myself inspire by aesthetical criteria, into which, of course, may flow the experience of aura after all."
(Email to Klaus Podoll, February 3, 2005)
About the artist"Artistically, I have been interested for a long time already. Since 1977, I have studied history of art at the Rhein-Ruhr-University in Bochum (Germany) for several years whereby I could gain a better orientation in the historic diversity of artistic work. I myself have been artistically active since about 1990. At first, I worked several years in various techniques, preferably watercolour, pen-and-ink and pastel, as well as in mixed techniques. Since I discovered, some years ago, the manifold possibilities of computer graphics and photo processing, my artistic interest increasingly focused on this medium. In particular, the three-dimensional representation fascinates me. Sometimes, I also drew inspiration from the works of the surrealists. My artistic work was often based on fractals: I produced images on their basis, which I then processed to obtaining a more spacial effect. In the meantime, I work semi-professionally, having carried out some commissioned work for internet and private orders." (Email to Klaus Podoll, December 2, 2002) |
References
Dahlem MA, Engelmann R, Löwel S, Müller SC. Does the migraine aura reflect cortical organization? European Journal of Neuroscience 2000; 12: 767-770.
Author: Klaus Podoll Translator: Renée Köttgen
Last modification of this page: Thursday March 13. 2005
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