Client: Memorial Hermann Hospital

Overview

I create visual stories from experiences and expectations.
The Hermann Health System is one of the most acclaimed parts of the Texas Medical Center; and I was honored and inspired to create this large piece for them to commemorate their brave healthcare workers and legacies. The piece is 120″ X 72″, Acrylics and paste on canvas. Completed in November 2020; Installed and unveiled March 2022.
I did research and created several sketches which led to a completed watercolor rendering. They loved it, approving it for production. Here’s the story:

Every challenging period in human history demands heroes. The Covid-19 pandemic confronted us with a puzzle whose pieces require ingenuity, verve and fearlessness. It demanded heroes.
Our heroes confronted this problem with research, resolve and resistance. The vaccine emerged in a flash. Despondency was deterred. Healthcare workers fought back with vigor and bravado; in a battlefield defined by unease and the unknown. Power and resources flowed from the air, the land, and from the heart.
Warriors were born; and history wrote new stories on the faces of the cared for, and the cured. Disease abated. Gloom escaped. A new day is born. A new sunny day which shall forever pay tribute and proclaim this time as the Age of Heroes.

Goals

The Memorial Hermann Health System did a huge expansion at one of their hospitals. This expansion involved new sections to accommodate the growing needs of the hospital and as fate would have it, the pandemic intruded into the plans. The monumental effort their staff put in handling the load of healthcare needs and beating back the virus required recognition. That's when they came to me and asked that I design and produce a mural or large painting to pay tribute to this effort. So the piece became a major component in the new building wing they were adding. The importance of this integration cannot be overstated as thousands of healthcare workers are ecstatic at how they're celebrated and honored with this project. A sense of pride, appreciation and majestic beauty pervades the entire Hermann Hospital System because of this.

Process

Every step of producing this work was meticulous and carefully carried out for excellence and professionalism.
Bruce is an expert at handling custom sized canvases and he built this one to the specific dimension. Ms Rivkah is a talented artist who primed and created the perfect foundation for this piece. I then followed up with the rest of the painting. The success of the piece relied much on the effort of these gifted people who helped make it happen.

Additional Information

This period in human history requires us as artists to document the challenges and triumph witnessed. I undertook this project to preserve a momentous time that will never be forgotten. I know that many years from now, our children and descendants will use this piece as a window into this time that challenged us, and will be reminded of how we overcame it. The museums and institutions of the future will appreciate this piece even more than we do today. I am honored to have created this. I have done many projects for institutions, organizations and individuals that contain and transport their values across moments and onto posterity. Art remains one of the most viable vessels to preserve our stories and heritage.