By Michael Morton
But these creatures posed no threat since they were mere images of their wild brethren, part of an unveiling of a new video art installation projected onto the hospital walls and ceilings to create a world of wonder for sick youngsters.
“In addition to my other duties, I now become a zookeeper,” joked Dr. Philip Lanzkowsky, chief of staff and executive director of the hospital. Becoming more serious, he added, “we are very concerned about the therapeutic milieu in which we provide treatment to the child.”
Since it helps to create a cheerful and soothing environment, art has long been thought to aid the healing process, an effect described at least as far back as Florence Nightingale, speakers at the unveiling said. The video installation, the latest work to be added to Schneider's collection, was created by Dominik Lejman, a budding Polish artist commissioned by Lynn Schneider, daughter of the hospital's original benefactors.
For his project, “Animating Spaces,” Lejman recorded animals at zoos, aquariums and pet stores, then used digital technology to remove the background scenes. The process left short films of cut-out fish, lizards, rabbits, bears, a tiger, iguanas, flamingos and other birds.
Lanzkowsky remarked on the realistic nature of the images and said younger patients had already tried to feed the elusive rabbits carrots and to catch the darting fish. One child, 11-year-old Jillian Weiss of Levittown, hospitalized with strep throat, said of the project “it's peaceful.”
That response pleased Lejman. “The rewarding thing for me is the sight of the reaction from the critic, which in this case is the child,” he said.
Since the creation of the hospital more than 25 years ago, Schneider's benefactors and directors have focused on creating a large art collection, one that now includes works by Andy Warhol; photographs by William Wegman, famed for posing Weimaraner dogs; and a giant outdoor sculpture by Keith Haring, a groundbreaking '80s graffiti artist and AIDS activist.
“There's nothing that's just OK. It's great,” Diane Brown said of the collection. Brown, a former art dealer who now directs RxArt, a Manhattan non-profit which seeks to put cultural works in medical facilities, was contacted by Lynn Schneider to find an artist for the hospital's latest effort.
She eventually settled on Lejman. “We didn't want to install wallpaper,” Brown said of her high-brow choice. She said the children's hospital was unique in the way it has embraced the link between art and healing.
“Usually it's a real struggle to get the hospital to understand,” Brown said.
Schneider's staff said Lejman's installation would engage their patient's imagination and momentarily transport them away from their ordeal, relieving stress and tension.
“We're very concerned they're not traumatized by this experience,” Lanzkowsky said of medical visits. The hospital, he said, is in the very early stages of doubling the size of its 200,000 square-foot facility and increasing its yearly outpatient load from 120,000 to 160,000.
The new section would be anchored around an atrium, with a “magic fountain” in the middle, and would include more works of art.
Said Lanzkowsky: “The whole idea is to make this like a museum and gallery that also provides outstanding medical care.”
Reach reporter Michael Morton by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by calling 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
