In the Picture

The Art of Pain and Suffering

In the August 1980 issue of the 'Migraine Newsletter', Peter Wilson, the founder and then honorary secretary of the British Migraine Association, released a call for contributions to what became the first of a total of four Migraine Art Competitions. This text, which provides a summary of the original intentions of the competition organizers, is reproduced here in full.

National Migraine Art Competition

By Peter Wilson

With so many millions of people afflicted by the phenomena of the six forms of visual disturbance which precede the classical migraine attack from the shimmering stars of teichopsia; the half vision of hemianopia; the bright-edged castellated lines of fortification spectrum; of scintillating scotoma and Tunnel vision to forms not even yet recorded by medical illustration we hope we can attract the artistic skills mixed evenly with the natural, even primitive depiction of just what young and old experience visually and mentally from this Earth-borne inheritance which has visited Man since earliest recorded history. If this competition alerts just a few hundred more people into a more realistic understanding of what migraine really means in terms of astronomical human suffering then it will have been worthwhile. Unreasonable to expect a massive impact on the media while rape, thuggery, vandalism and the more sensational attractions of human interest rule the headlines, but the odd by-line report will always be appreciated - and it is our duty to make the effort.

References

Nicola U, Podoll K. L'aura di Giorgio de Chirico. Arte emicranica e pittura metafisica. Mimesis, Milano 2003.
Wilson P. National Migraine Art Competition. Migraine Newsletter August 1980; (no. 3): 11.

Author: Klaus Podoll
Last modification of this page: The. May 25 2004

In the Picture

The Art of Pain and Suffering

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