Aesthetic Expression
1998 ◽
Vol 2
(3)
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pp. 40-47
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Keyword(s):
This paper examines the relationship of suffering, the need for care, and the healing power of aesthetics in human science. The authors live in the world of art and healing as scholars, educators, performers, and healers. In examining suffering in a cooperative mode of inquiry, the authors reflected on aesthetic works of suffering and beauty, as well as science, nursing literature, and illness narratives. Implications for nursing practice, education, and research are discussed. Recommendations for the possibilities of healing art in hospitals will be addressed as a restorative process in postmodern healthcare. The hospitals have been described as concentrated centers of human suffering, very much in need of its healing sister, art.