Helen Donis-Keller

Hairfish

Peter Gachot

Artist's Website

Peter Gachot, Man with Migraine, 1989. (Entry to the First Migraine Masterpieces art contest.) © 2004 National Headache Foundation (http://home.inreach.com/ptglmn/art3.htm, August 14, 2003)

"Thank you for your interest in my work. Indeed I did win an honorable mention in the original 'Migraine Masterpieces' art competition sponsored by the National Headache Foundation back in 1989. At the time I was a 26-year-old artist living in New York City who had suffered from migraines for about a decade. A friend told me about the competition, so I figured, why not enter? I was honored that my painting was one of 25 selected from over 400 entries. The Headache Foundation retained the painting and the right to reproduction, as I discovered quite by accident. At the time my girlfriend's father was a doctor, and he discovered my painting prominently reproduced in the American Medical News along with an article about the show. For all I know the painting has appeared all over the world. An interesting thing about my migraines is that I don't get them any more. After I moved away from New York, lived in places with better air, improved my diet and exercise, and generally lead a healthier lifestyle, they disappeared. I am certain in my case they are caused by stress, poor diet, bad air, and lack of exercise. As I'm sure you're aware migraines are hereditary, so I come from a whole family of migraine sufferers." (Email to Klaus Podoll, August 19, 2003)

"I would not make art if I had a headache. The headache pre-empts all activity. The state of mind I do artwork in is usually a pleasant one with no connection to migraines. I have some additional observations on migraines: 1) Cigarette smoke in an unventilated environment will almost always trigger a migraine in me. It therefore seems obvious to me that they are caused by a lack of oxygen in the blood. 2) Migraines have several distinct stages: loss of vision, headache, nausea, and then, after many hours of pain, recovery of strength, which is always pleasant. 3) Apart from the first stage (loss of vision) migraines are very similar to hangovers. 4) My migraines are so unpleasant that I regard them as the opposite of artistic inspiration; however, during the recovery stage, one may be inspired to create. 5) I have successfully used to music to hasten recovery from a migraine. What happens is a pleasant song comes into my head, and by humming it the pain and chaos of migraine slowly gets replaced with a feeling of harmony. I would be happy to elaborate on any of the above points. I assure as a migraine sufferer that all of the above holds true for me." (Email to Klaus Podoll, August 21, 2003)

"As I said, my migraines are very unpleasant and disabling. The body and its systems shuts down for many hours. Time that could have been productive is lost, and instead all one gets is pain, nausea, etc. The recovery, when it finally comes, is very much like a 'rebirth'. It is a joy to the extent that one feels oneself again, free and able to read, write, think, paint, walk, eat, etc. It's a return to one's familiar self, but you are little bit more thankful for every sensation, every little detail, every pleasant and familiar thing. Typically as I come out of the illness, I might listen to a piece of music that seems to express my 'life energy' (this relates to the humming I mentioned before), then maybe go for a walk or bike ride, have a good meal, read the newspaper, watch a film, or sit in a park - since being around plants and trees definitely helps me regain my full strength. It is in this passive state of relaxed recovery that I do some of my best reflection, and along with that creative ideas may present themselves quite effortlessly. It may be the solution to a problem I've been working on, the unraveling of a mystery, an idea for a painting, or the inspiration to write - I like to write as well as paint. It may be an epiphany on an issue that leads me make resolutions or set new goals. Whatever form it takes, it is the 'opposite of migraine' because there is the joy of feeling reconnected to one's true self, and a flow of creative thought that leads to creative and productive activity. During the migraine, I feel a total loss of self, of free will. Migraines are like temporary slavery. They sneak up unannounced and force you to stop everything you were doing, then hold you captive for eight or ten hours. While they are happening it is difficult to even have thoughts. About the only thing you can do is confront and experience the pain. The migraine will not leave you alone until you have 'paid' a sufficient amount of pain. Of course all of this is based on my own experience of migraines, so I speak only for myself. Others may experience them differently." (Email to Klaus Podoll, August 28, 2003)

References

Webb A. Pain as art. Exhibit depicts the violence of migraine headaches. American Medical News November 24, 1989; 32 (no. 44): 9.

Author: Klaus Podoll
Last modification of this page: Thu. June 10, 2004

Helen Donis-Keller

Hairfish

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