Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health is a banner traveling exhibition highlighting the role of communities in improving health at home and all around the world. The exhibition explores the shared basic needs required for a good quality of life, including nutritious food and clean water, a safe place to live, and affordable health care.

Using historical and contemporary photographs, the banners tell stories of collaboration between families, scientists, advocates, governments, and international organizations, all taking up the challenge to prevent disease and improve medical care. The journey begins in Pholela, South Africa, where husband and wife team Sidney and Emily Kark developed a holistic approach to community health. Traveling on, the exhibition showcases the work of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee to teach mothers across the country Oral Rehydration Therapy, a lifesaving treatment for childhood diarrhea.

Other destinations include Brazil, where the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST), or Landless Workers’ Movement is empowering poor citizens to begin subsistence farming on land left idle by agricultural corporations, and Central America, where the Pan American Health Organization launched Health as a Bridge to Peace to put an end to conflict and rebuild health care services.

As well as recent developments, the exhibition also focuses on historic campaigns that have changed today’s attitudes. The role of activists in the United States during the early years of the AIDS epidemic, for example, includes the work of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) and the battles of Ryan White, the teenager who fought to attend school after contracting HIV through a blood transfusion.

This exhibition raises awareness of the sources and effects of health inequalities and invites each of us to join the global campaign for health and human rights. The experiences described here constitute a legacy of success, often based on the simplest means. Working together, we can make a world of difference.
An online web version of the exhibition, including opportunities to get involved, is available at http://apps.nlm.nih.gov/againsttheodds/index.cfm

This exhibition is brought to you by the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.

Scientist. Philosopher. Artist! This is not an exaggeration. Wolfgang Ritschel is all of these.

Born in Trautenau, in what is now the Czech Republic, and raised in Vienna, Ritschel excelled at both left brain and right brain disciplines from an early age. His formal training in painting, starting at age 14, extended to his undergraduate days at the University of Vienna, where he eventually earned a doctorate in philosophy. Ritschel continued his education earning doctorates in pharmacology and medicine and a master’s degree in pharmacy. Ritschel taught at universities in Austria, Bangladesh, and Switzerland before arriving at the University of Cincinnati in 1968. At Cincinnati he held a dual appointment as professor of pharmacokinetics and biopharmaceutics in the College of Pharmacy and professor of pharmacology and cell biophysics in the College of Medicine; he is now professor emeritus. In his 29 years in Cincinnati he published 14 books and 370 of his over 440 scientific articles, and secured 22 patents. He was a pioneer in pharmacokinetics,and was honored for his ground-breaking work in the field by numerous academies, including the Fulbright Senior Scholar program and the Royal Academy of Spain.

During his years as a scientific scholar and teacher, Ritschel never lost his passion for painting and sculpture. He continued training in these disciplines at the Cincinnati Art Academy, Miami University, and the Anderson Art Ranch in Snowmass, Colorado. He began exhibiting his work in the early 1990s. By 2008 Ritschel had over 60 solo shows in the U.S., Europe, and South America, and had participated in over 290 group shows, including the International Biennale of Contemporary Art 2005 in Florence, Italy. Museums, corporations, and private collectors worldwide have added Ritschel’s works to their collections. Ritschel describes his painting style as expressionism influenced by fauvism. The subject matter is mostly landscapes or cityscapes of places he has visited. He captures people living in these locations, with their cultural character and social mores. Ritschel’s sculptures deal almost exclusively with medical themes using an unusual medium: leaded stained glass and discarded, mostly stainless steel medical instruments. The influence of his many visits to South America is readily apparent, especially in Ritschel’s paintings. “I use extremely brilliant, vibrant, bright fauvistic color schemes as well as strong cloisonnistic encasements and overlapping,” Ritschel says. When teaching clinical pharmacokinetics and doing medical research in South America he traveled through the Andes Mountains and was struck by the different color perception at the high altitude. The profound impact of that experience is evident in all of Ritschel’s paintings, and epitomizes the confluence of his disparate, yet complementary talents.

About the Artist was provided by Stephen Marine, University of Cincinnati Libraries

I work as a private practioner in Internal Medicine & Pediatrics at a local outpatient clinic. I have had an interest in photography since childhood. Introduced to photography through my Father who always carried his Minolta camera and its tripod wherever we went, it did not really become a hobby until about 6 years ago. I am not a professional photographer and have never really taken any technical photography classes. I just enjoy it. Given the privilege to travel, I have had wonderful opportunities to record the beauty of the earth and its inhabitants. Even in the midst of this world which seems more and more filled with unrest and distress, there are moments when one is reminded that peace exists in the simplicity of a moment. It is my hope that these pictures can bring moments of peace to those with whom they meet.

Students have been asked to create a piece of art based on Keith Haring’s style that expresses an urban scene. The use of contours and iconic shapes with the very simple basic colors is typical of Keith Haring’s work.

The painting above shows a child with a bouquet of balloons floating away in the clouds.
Nicole Corn-Smith
Class 702
Diggs-Johnson Middle School.

“A Line in the Sand” is a photographic exhibit chronicling Maryland’s fight against domestic violence and the people who have made a significant contribution to fight domestic violence.

The exhibit was conceived and organized by the House of Ruth Maryland and features 20 interpretive portraits and essays of people who have been influential in the fight against domestic violence. Fine art photographers from around the U.S. were invited to shoot the portraits that make up the exhibit.

The exhibit will be on display in the Library from November 3 through December 1. The opening reception – by invite – will be held on November 13, 2008 in the Library. Contact 6-8035 for more information.

Rick Guidotti completed his education in photography and filmmaking at New York’s School of Visual Arts and established a studio in Manhattan, specializing in portraiture and fashion for 15 years. During that period he also worked in Milan, Paris and London for clients such as Yves Saint Laurent, Elle, Harpers Bazaar, Revlon, L’Oreal and Life Magazine.

In 1998, Rick founded Positive Exposure, a non profit organization, that challenges stigma associated with difference by pioneering a new vision of the beauty and richness of genetic diversity. Rick’s photo essay “Redefining Beauty” in Life Magazine won the Genetic Alliance’s “Art of Reporting” award.

The body of work entitled “Positive Exposure, The Spirit of Difference” premiered at the People’s Genome Celebration, June 2001, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in DC. and continues to exhibit in galleries, museums and public arenas internationally.

In addition to the exhibition, Rick has developed a lecture series targeting medical schools, nursing and genetic counseling programs as well as elementary and secondary schools worldwide. The lecture series has expanded to include a diversity workshop and was introduced at MTV headquarters.

Currently, Rick is engaged in an ongoing developmental collaboration with leading US medical schools and genetics counseling programs to create and beta-test “Positive Ties”, a web-based, image/information platform created by and for medical students and persons living with genetic difference.

This year, in partnership with a national consortium of science and children’s museums, Rick has also begun development of the “Mirror of Difference”, an interactive media exhibit on human genetic diversity for science and children’s museums. This exhibit will be linked in real time to the “Positive Ties” web platform.

Rick is based in New York City.

Dr. Adam Puche is a faculty member of the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology at the University of Maryland. He has a long standing passion for the natural world and nature photography, including an exploration of underwater photography over the last 5 years. His scientific photography has appeared on the covers of seven international journals and his nature photography has been featured in several calendars and individual pieces in juried shows.

This show celebrates the 70% of the earth’s surface that is covered by water through photography of the dramatic coastlines and underwater inhabitants that make up this largely unexplored part of our planet. Photography around (and under) water is a challenging environment for any photographer and camera; especially in today’s era of digital photography…electronics and water don’t mix. The challenges and patience required for photographing the natural world adds to the reward when achieving that one photograph that captures the moment and essence of the photographic subject.

A full range of his photographic work is accessible at www.icarusphotography.com

Women’s History Month opens with the Maryland Women in Medicine exhibit.

The story of medical women in Maryland is a rich one. From the Women’s Medical College of Baltimore to modern movers and shakers, the exhibit running from March 3 – June 13, celebrates the many contributions of Maryland women in medicine.

This exhibit was developed to compliment the very successful Changing the Face of Medicine held this past fall in the library. The basis for this exhibit was an essay written by Larry Pitrof, Executive Director of the Medical Alumni Association of the University of Maryland, Inc. The alumni association also generously underwrote the costs of the exhibit.

Please join us for a celebration officially opening the exhibit on Wednesday, March 12 from 4pm-6pm.

All are welcome.

Beginning December 15, the Weise Gallery will feature the work of Barry S. Handwerger, recently retired University of Maryland Rheumatologist/Immunologist, who returns for his third individual exhibit of unique digital photography.

Photography has become a passion for Handwerger, who delights in the nuances he can achieve by modifying digital images. With an eye for unusual angles and composition, he focuses on diverse subjects that reflect his avid interests in world travel, nature and architecture. This exhibit showcases these themes.

“I bought my first real camera, a single lens reflex, in 1970 shortly after my first child arrived on the scene. With a good camera, I grew excited about the creative aspects of photography. In my own darkroom I spent whole evenings experimenting with image-enhancing techniques. About six years ago, I purchased my first digital camera and I was hooked!”

Co-founder of Digi-Docs, a local photography group, Handwerger contributed to its Weise Gallery show in 2006. His pictures adorn the walls of many UMB campus rooms.

A celebration of the exhibit opening will be held on Thursday, January 10 from 5-8 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

I am a twenty year resident of Baltimore having relocated here in 1987 from Columbus, Ohio. For the past six years I’ve been an RN in GI Medicine/Hepatology here at UMMS.

I’ve been pursuing photography for about the past five years. While I’ve been a snap shooter most of my life, it all got serious when my partner Alan gave me a digital point and shoot camera as a gift. Under his tutelage, I quickly embraced digital photography as an art form. A short time later, I discovered the beauty of traditional film photography and tend to do my best work on film. I’ve since amassed a sizable camera collection ranging from 35 mm rangefinders to medium and large format. I have a large collection of older toy and junk cameras that have their own unique image making qualities. I use a Minolta digital SLR for my digital work. All of my film work is developed and then scanned into the computer for further refinements and printing. I like this kind of hybrid process for the beautiful tones of traditional films with the control of digital post processing. I continue to explore new ways to make images using both old and new technologies.

This exhibition has both current and past work, spanning the past five years. On one wall is a series of photographs taken at Fort Armistead in Baltimore. This is an old fort that is completely covered in successive layers of graffiti. I found the vibrant colors and textures fascinating. Expression is being simultaneously created while destroying what’s underneath. The end result becomes a kind of collaboration although the individuals are not present at the same time. The collective work of these unknowns if further abstracted by the act of capturing small details.

Another section of the exhibit is photographs taken near the medical center. These were made with various film, digital and toy cameras. I have a habit of carrying a camera with me and often find interesting pictures on my walk to and from the parking garage and lunchtime strolls around the medical center.

The three larger square photographs were taken at a farm in Howard County that houses some of what’s left of the old Enchanted Forest just West of Baltimore. Many Baltimore residents remember these fairytale characters from childhood.  These were taken with the plastic Diana toy camera.  I like the dreamy quality of the cheap plastic lens on this camera and the unpredictable results, as this camera has no real controls on it.

The final section is a collection of favorite images over the past few years.  Many of these have been displayed and sold at Hon Fest in Hampden.