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Alzheimer's Through Artist Eyes!

      In 1995, U.K.-based artist William Utermohlen was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease [dementia]. This is a difficult diagnosis and disease for anyone, but before his death in 2007, Utermohlen created a heart-wrenching final series of self-portraits over a roughly 5-year period documenting the gradual decay of his mind due to this crippling disease.
      Utermohlen's widow, Patricia, wrote in a 2006 essay on her husband's work. She explains perfectly exactly why these images are so powerful; "In these pictures we see with heart-breaking intensity William's efforts to explain his altered self, his fears and his sadness." It's hard to say whether the changes in his portraits came about due the loss of his artistic skills or due to changes in his psyche but, in either case, they document the emotional turmoil of an artist watching his mind slip away from him bit by bit.
      Here's His Amazing Self-Portraits. Enjoy! :)
Shangrala's Alzheimer's Through Artist Eyes
      After his death in 2007, his widow recalled, "Even the time he was beginning to be ill, he was always always drawing, every minute of the day. I say he died in 2000, because he died when he couldn't draw any more. He actually died in 2007, but it wasn't him by then."

Shangrala's Alzheimer's Through Artist Eyes

Shangrala's Alzheimer's Through Artist Eyes

Shangrala's Alzheimer's Through Artist Eyes

Shangrala's Alzheimer's Through Artist Eyes




Shangrala's Alzheimer's Through Artist Eyes

Shangrala's Alzheimer's Through Artist Eyes

Shangrala's Alzheimer's Through Artist Eyes
      Utermohlen's self-portraits provide a stark look at the devastating effects of Alzheimer's. As the artist struggled to keep in touch with the world around him, his works became flatter, more abstract, with a new loss of details and spatial sense. By 2000, Utermohlen's memory and technical skills had deteriorated to the point where his heartbreaking portrayal of himself was simply a scribbled skull and the barest shadows of facial features.



Shangrala's Alzheimer's Through Artist Eyes Shangrala's Alzheimer's Through Artist Eyes


In 2014 Music Legend Glen Campbell
Was Diagnosed With Alzheimer's Disease...

Shangrala's Alzheimer's Through Artist Eyes
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