A Permanent Lisa

Abstract

This article describes one collaborative arts-based research project. Portrait artist Mark Gilbert considers lessons for art and healing from one patient, Lisa. Lisa took comfort in the permanence of portraiture amidst the uncertainties of tongue cancer. Arts-Based ResearchThe Experience of Portraiture in a Clinical Setting (EPICS) project sought to explore my artistic interactions and shared experiences with patients from the Head and Neck Cancer Clinic at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. 1 The following portraits of Lisa enable investigation of the ethical and aesthetic value of permanence in Lisa's illness and portraiture experiences.