Headache Medicine, v.3, n.2, p.53-54, Apr./May/Jun. 2012 53
"Next time you have a headache, remember – pain
is an illusion…"
"Na próxima vez que tiver uma dor de cabeça, lembre-se – a dor é uma
ilusão…"
NEUROARTNEUROART
NEUROARTNEUROART
NEUROART
INTRODUÇÃO
During the 54
th
Annual Meeting of the American
Headache Society in Los Angeles we visited Santa Monica,
California on Sunday June 24, 2012. It was a beautiful
sunny day, with a happy crowd walking along the Third
Street Promenade. There were many musicians, dancers,
jugglers, among other artists entertaining the crowd. On
the sidewalk we met Sterling Simons, a young American
who was in the company of two friends offering his
drawing artistic expertise to the public. He could draw a
picture of anything of somebody's choice. Our request
was for him to draw whatever he could think of (or
interpret as) a "headache". He asked us to return in 30
minutes. Half an hour later he showed us the drawing of
a woman with migraine, which he entitled "The migraine"
(Figure 1). On the reverse side of the drawing Simons
wrote: "Next time you have a headache, remember -
pain is an illusion…" (Figure 2). Simons reported that he
had frequent headache attacks. We paid U$15.00 for
this precious work of art.
Trying to interpret the drawing, we think the artist,
whether consciously or not, represented the right part of
the woman's face somewhat blurred, as if a visual aura
were present. In addition, the hair covering the right eye
suggests the woman was suffering from some degree of
photophobia. The photophobia is also suggested by the
fact that both eyes are closed. It seems to represent a
severe attack, since she appears to express the facial
Figure 2. The reverse side of the drawing.
Marcelo Moraes Valença
1
, Luciana Patrízia A. Andrade-Valença
1
, Maria Helena Costa
2
1
Neurology and Neurosurgical Unit, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil
2
Research Scholar in the International Institute at University of California at Los Angeles – UCLA, California, USA
Valença MM, Andrade-Valença LP, Costa MH. "Next time you have a headache, remember – pain is an
illusion…". Headache Medicine. 2012;3(2):53-4
Figure 1. Drawing: "The migraine".
54 Headache Medicine, v.3, n.2, p.53-54, Apr./May/Jun. 2012
VALENÇA MM, ANDRADE-VALENÇA LP, COSTA MH
mimicry of pain, reinforced by a clenched positioning of
the teeth, characteristic of a person suffering from pain.
Her hair is also uncombed, indicating an intense feeling
of sickness, common in migraineurs, and the characteristic
restful undisturbed behavior and less concern for personal
appearance during the period of suffering.
Thus, this is another example of neuroart, in which
neurological disorders depicted in a drawing may transmit
feelings of pain. Furthermore, the representation itself tells
us more about someone's (in this case, the artist's) particular
view on a specific subject which must be interpreted within
the context of a general (cultural?) understanding (in some
cases, misunderstanding) of a particular subject. In the
end, artistic representations influence the way the subject
itself is regarded, viewed, understood and interpreted.
Received: 6/25/2012
Accepted: 6/29/2012
Correspondence
Marcelo M. V Marcelo M. V
Marcelo M. V Marcelo M. V
Marcelo M. V
alençaalença
alençaalença
alença
Neurology and Neurosurgery Unit, Department of
Neuropsychiatry, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
Cidade Universitária
50670-420 – Recife, PE, Brazil.
Phone: +55 81 99229394; +55 81 34263501;
Fax: +55 81 21268539
mmvalenca@yahoo.com.br
