Jul 14, 2010 By: yunews
"Da Vinci Night": Uniting Art and Anatomy to Explore the Human Body
Sheera Minkowitz, Nate Brown and Dr. Todd Olson study the subject during da Vinci Night at Einstein
Jul 14, 2010 -- While the Convocation of Thanks has become an annual tradition for first-year students to mark the completion of their Clinical and Developmental Anatomy course, another tradition is taking root at Einstein, known as da Vinci Night. Introduced two years ago by Dr. Todd R. Olson, course director and professor of anatomy and structural biology, da Vinci Night offers a unique art experience that also affords its participants further appreciation of the cadavers who serve as first-year students’ initial “patients” and the silent teachers about life as revealed inside the human body.
On a cool spring evening, nearly two dozen students gathered for this special occasion in a conference room on the anatomy floor. They were joined by some Einstein faculty and staff members, all waiting with nervous anticipation for their entry into the dissection labs across the hall.
As Dr. Olson welcomed everyone he noted, “We’ll re-create what happened 400 to 500 years ago when artists learned about the human body by drawing what they observed from cadavers,” he noted. “Like those artists, you’ll have the opportunity to select from the whole body, the sinuses, heart, knee or whatever is of interest and be involved in an artistic endeavor. You’ll gain a new perspective on how the human body is put together.”
Sheera Minkowitz, Nate Brown and Dr. Todd Olson study the subject during da Vinci Night at Einstein
Jul 14, 2010 -- While the Convocation of Thanks has become an annual tradition for first-year students to mark the completion of their Clinical and Developmental Anatomy course, another tradition is taking root at Einstein, known as da Vinci Night. Introduced two years ago by Dr. Todd R. Olson, course director and professor of anatomy and structural biology, da Vinci Night offers a unique art experience that also affords its participants further appreciation of the cadavers who serve as first-year students’ initial “patients” and the silent teachers about life as revealed inside the human body.
On a cool spring evening, nearly two dozen students gathered for this special occasion in a conference room on the anatomy floor. They were joined by some Einstein faculty and staff members, all waiting with nervous anticipation for their entry into the dissection labs across the hall.
As Dr. Olson welcomed everyone he noted, “We’ll re-create what happened 400 to 500 years ago when artists learned about the human body by drawing what they observed from cadavers,” he noted. “Like those artists, you’ll have the opportunity to select from the whole body, the sinuses, heart, knee or whatever is of interest and be involved in an artistic endeavor. You’ll gain a new perspective on how the human body is put together.”
