Kristin Beck’s private expertise of caring for her father, who was recognized with dementia in 2019, was what impressed the artist to create Earlier than I Neglect. “Alzheimer’s touches everyone,” says Kristin Beck, curator and solo artist of Earlier than I Neglect, on view on the North Regional/Broward School Library in Coconut Creek via Friday, Nov. 29.
Beck, a local Floridian, is from Miami and at the moment lives in Coconut Creek. She has appeared in 50 artwork reveals and works as a graphic designer on the Cultural Council of Palm Seaside. Since 2022, she has been a caregiver for her father, who was a proud Coast Guard veteran and Ohio businessman and is the grandfather of three. He was recognized with dementia in 2019.
Whereas caring for her dad, Beck was impressed to create an exhibition that explored the themes of reminiscence loss and id, to indicate others what dementia is like, and to assist her cope as her father was changing into what he describes as a “shadow of his former self.”
“It was like a lightbulb in my head,” says Beck. “I asked myself, ‘How can the concepts of dementia, memory and identity be systematically shown in a way people can understand and be moved by it?’ I wanted to pull heartstrings and make people think. I wanted them to respond.”
Up to now, Beck’s artwork was all the time achieved as a “one-off” about a number of topics, she reveals. She says she was “consistently inconsistent” along with her artwork initiatives. However for this exhibit, she knew she wanted to transcend what she had achieved earlier than and deeply and completely discover one very critical theme.
“My series visually represents impaired and declining cognitive functions,” says Beck. She reveals diminished capacities and realizations of dropping her sense of self, and she or he helped finance this exhibition with an Artist Assist grant from the Broward Cultural Division.
Earlier than I Neglect resonated deeply with our guests, reworking into extra than simply an artwork expertise,” says Juliana Forero of Cooper Metropolis, the humanities and tradition supervisor on the Coral Springs Museum of Artwork, the place the exhibition was on show from Aug. 1 via Oct. 5.
When the exhibition was at her museum, Forero says that company would return after seeing Earlier than I Neglect. (They have been) desperate to introduce their family members to the non-public connection they’ve felt. It was heartening to see how approachable and relatable the exhibition was, which become an expertise that folks have been excited to share with each other,” says the Cooper Metropolis resident
In September, 40 individuals attended Beck’s “Art and the Brain” interactive class on the Coral Springs Museum of Artwork. Beck created the occasion with Lindsey Wuest, a science via artwork specialist who teaches how the mind works to kindergarten via fifth grade at A. D. Henderson College at Florida Atlantic College in Boca Raton.
Wuest, a Lighthouse Level resident, says, “We challenged the attendees to draw a neuron. There are billions of them sending electric and chemical signals through the brain. We showed how a single malfunction meant the link to other neurons was gone. This means loss of identity and confusion. The impact is huge.”
Wuest says that utilizing the visible arts was one of the best ways to get attendees to empathize with the struggles of individuals enduring reminiscence loss. Recounting their very own favourite earliest recollections was probably the most direct technique to contain them within the strategy of understanding how devastating it’s to lose recollections.
“I told the class my strongest memory was the smell of coconut oil. I taught in Hawaii and every time I smell that, it takes me right back. Everyone has something like that in their life. One person said it was how as a child, he petted his dog’s fur. Another said it was the sound of palm fronds rustling in the wind. We discussed how these crucial memories shape our identities,” says Wuest. “Then we imagined if this precious memory was no longer accessible. The emotions are gone.”
Wuest’s grandmother handed away from Alzheimer’s and dementia final December. “It was heartbreaking. She called me by my Mom’s name. She asked me over and over, ‘When are we going to dinner?’ She used to love family dinner every Sunday night and that was the one memory she held on to,” says Wuest.
Beck describes her personal private experiences in coping with her father’s sickness.
“He used to have a big, deep-belly laugh. I’m not sure what makes him laugh, it’s not prepared jokes. When I ask, ‘How do you feel today?’ he would answer, ‘With my hands.’ Now he just wiggles his fingers,” says Beck, who says that he advised her, ‘I used to have purpose,’ which she makes use of as a part of the exhibition.
Beck reached out to the Alzheimer’s Affiliation Southeast Florida Chapter and was put in contact with Joe Baldelomar, a neuropsychologist and the care and help program director for the Alzheimer’s Affiliation Southeast Florida Chapter.
“When Kristin reached out about her project, I thought, wow—this is something people need to be aware of,” says Baldelomar. “Not only does her Memory Quilt provide the concept of capturing a memory on fabric—but your brain also builds that memory, meaning we build connections within ourselves, and it keeps our brains healthy.”
The Reminiscence Quilt was from an earlier venture, a group quilt program, coinciding with the Alzheimer’s Affiliation’s “The Longest Day.” Final Might and June, contributors wrote recollections on cloth scraps or on a favourite T-shirt. The completed Reminiscence Quilt is displayed within the exhibition.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Earlier than I Neglect
WHERE: North Regional/Broward School Library, 1100 Coconut Creek Blvd. 2nd flooring, Coconut Creek
WHEN: On view from Tuesday, Oct. 8 via Friday, Nov. 29 throughout common library hours.
TICKETS: Free
INFORMATION: (954) 201-2600 or www.broward.org/library
This story was produced by Broward Arts Journalism Alliance (BAJA), an unbiased journalism program of the Broward County Cultural Division. Go to ArtsCalendar.com for extra tales concerning the arts in South Florida.
