Sunday, May 31, 2015

Owanto

Owanto is a contemporary artist of French-Gabonese origin. (born December 13, 1953 in Paris)
Owanto artist

Contents

  
  • 1 Biography
  • 2 Work
  • 3 Selected Biography
  • 4 References
  • 5 External links

Biography

Owanto grew up in Gabon, where she spent her formative years, and eventually moved to Europe. The artist uses a multidisciplinary approach in her creative process and works across a variety of media, including painting,sculpture, photography, video and installation.
Owanto had the honour of representing the Republic of Gabon at the 53rd International Art Exhibition of theVenice Biennale in 2009, with a solo show in Gabon's first National Pavilion at such a prestigious cultural event. The artist continues to exhibit internationally today. Her works can be found in private and public collections around the world.
Owanto had the honour of representing the Republic of Gabon at the 53rd International Art Exhibition of theVenice Biennale in 2009, with a solo show in Gabon's first National Pavilion at such a prestigious cultural event. The artist continues to exhibit internationally today. Her works can be found in private and public collections around the world. Owanto, The Lighthouse of Memory Go Nogé Mènè curated by Fernando Francés. Christian Maretti Editore. 2009. ISBN 88-89965-72-X.
Visual Poetry. Tecnograf S.A. 2005. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
Sherman, Professor Louise (2002). Owanto. Polígrafa Ediciones. ISBN 978-84-343-0934-0.

Work

“Owantoʼs focus on the Africa of her childhood has nothing to do with the similar experiences of 19th Century travel writers and explorers, and is at the opposite end of the aesthetic gaze of rational architects and Cubist painters. Hers is a call to the world based on life experiences, and her message is cogent and optimistic. Truth may be found at the origins of civilisation, which is why Africa, the land of her mother, has much to contribute to the construction of a world order - a contribution that is not scientific, economic or technical... but ethical. The ideas and principles which underlie Owantoʼs message are as simple as nature. Her animist convictions, and belief that family unity is a starting point for world unity, are deeply rooted in her Gabonese background. The home, for Owanto, is the best laboratory in which to design and build love, a raw material that is vital for mutual understanding in the world. This laboratory, in which mothers are symbols of unity and courage, is a metaphor for hope that a better world is possible if each of us exerts a positive influence on our immediate environment, our family, our tribe, our society.
Owanto has used pop, conceptual and minimal art in her creation of universal symbols, which remind spectators of where the solutions to our world may lie, and how a society lacking moral strength may begin to heal. Using her sculptures as starting points, Owanto has created a series of icons which she presents in highly technical formats such as light box and traffic signs - media previously explored by Maurizio Cattelan, Rogelio López Cuenca, Gabriel Acuña and Michael Pinsky. Owantoʼs discourse focuses on images of a family group and a child playing, which suggest a happier world to come. The pieces have a double intention: to alert us to solutions to our global predicament, and to suggest a change in governing attitudes and rules. The light box, like torches and lighthouses, illuminate a future characterised by tolerance, unity and hope.” [1]

Selected Biography

Owanto, The Lighthouse of Memory Go Nogé Mènè curated by Fernando Francés. Christian Maretti Editore. 2009. ISBN 88-89965-72-X.
Visual Poetry. Tecnograf S.A. 2005. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
Sherman, Professor Louise (2002). Owanto. Polígrafa Ediciones. ISBN 978-84-343-0934-0.
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Joshua Poteat


Joshua Poteat
Joshua Poteat is an American poet

Contents

 
  • 1 Background
  • 2 Reviews
  • 3 Publications
  • 4 References
  • 5 External links

Background

Joshua Poteat got his Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 1993. received his Master of Fine Arts in writing at Virginia Commonwealth University in May 1997.[1]
Poteat has published two books of poems, Ornithologies (Anhinga Poetry Prize, 2006) and Illustrating the Machine that Makes the World (University of Georgia Press/Virginia Quarterly Review, 2009), as well as a chapbook, Meditations (Poetry Society of America National Chapbook Award, 2004). He has won prizes and fellowships from bodies including The Literary Review, Bellingham Review, The Millay Colony, Virginia Commission for the Arts and Virginia Center for Creative Arts. He was named the 2011-2012 Donaldson Writer in Residence at The College of William & Mary.
Poteat is also an assemblage artist of sorts, making light box and ink transfers out of found materials, and collaborating with the designer Roberto Ventura on art installations, one of which won Best in Show for InLight 2009.
Poteat lives in Richmond, VA, with the writer Allison Titus. He is an editor at the Martin Agency.[2]

Reviews

Melanie Drane, at ForeWord Magazine, stated in May 2006: “Joshua Poteat’s stunning début has received the Anhinga Prize for Poetry, selected by Campbell McGrath. Poteat’s poems are suffused with the cognizance that ‘nothing in this world is ours.’ Each image teeters on an unsustainable, exquisite edge." [3]
Mary Oliver, a judge for the 2004 Poetry Society of America’s Chapbook Award, stated that: “It is a lyricism that reminds me of James Wright, and this I mean certainly as praise, when he employed, as I called it, an intensified vernacular—throwing me off my stride, gathering me to him by the detail of some earnest and often terrible beauty, in the easy language of our country with its sweet, oiled syntax…" [4]
Darren Morris a book reviewer for Style Weekly said in 2006 that: “Be careful when reading Ornithologies by Joshua Poteat. His poems are so mysterious, eloquent and downright powerful, they may ruin you with beauty. Good poetry calls attention to what would otherwise be overlooked, but the best poetry changes us." [5]

Publications

  • Meditations (2004)
  • Ornithologies (2006)
  • Illustrating the machine that makes the world: From J.G. Heck’s 1851 Pictorial Archive of Nature and Science, University of Georgia Press,Virginia Quarterly Review Contemporary Poets Series, (2009)
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Dawn simulation


A dawn simulation alarm clock
Dawn simulation is a technique that involves timing lights in the bedroom to come on gradually, over a period of 30 minutes to 2 hours, before awakening.

Contents

 
  • 1 History
  • 2 Clinical use
    • 2.1 Comparison with bright light therapy
    • 2.2 Other uses
  • 3 Non-clinical sleep and wake-up uses
  • 4 References
  • 5 Further reading

History

The concept of dawn simulation was first patented in 1890[1] as "mechanical sunrise". Modern electronic units were patented in 1973.[2] Variations and improvements seem to get patented every few years. Clinical trials were conducted by David Avery, MD,[3] in the 1980s at Columbia University following a long line of basic laboratory research that showed animals' circadian rhythms to be exquisitely sensitive to the dim, gradually rising dawn signal at the end of the night.

Clinical use

There are two types of dawn that have been used effectively in a clinical setting: a naturalistic dawn mimicking a springtime sunrise (but used in mid-winter when it is still dark outside), and a sigmoidal-shaped dawn (30 minutes to 2 hours). When used successfully, patients are able to sleep through the dawn and wake up easily at the simulated sunrise, after which the day's treatment is over. The theory behind dawn simulation is based on the fact that early morning light signals are much more effective at advancing the biological clock than are light signals given at other times of day (see Phase response curve).

Comparison with bright light therapy

Dawn simulation generally uses light sources that range in illuminance from 100 to 300 lux, while bright light box are usually in the 10,000-lux range. Approximately 19%[4] of patients discontinue post-awakening bright light therapy due to inconvenience. Because the entire treatment is complete before awakening, dawn simulation may be a more convenient alternative to post-awakening bright light therapy. In terms of efficacy, some studies have shown dawn simulation to be more effective than standard bright light therapy while others have shown no difference or shown that bright light therapy is superior.[5][6] Some patients with SAD use both dawn simulation and bright light therapy to provide maximum effect at the start of the day.

Other uses

In an elaboration of the method, patients have also been presented with a dim dusk signal at bedtime, with indications that it eases sleep onset. In addition, the technique has been used clinically[citation needed] with patients who suffer from delayed sleep phase syndrome, helping them to awaken earlier in gradual steps, as the simulated dawn is moved earlier.

Non-clinical sleep and wake-up uses

A dawn simulator can be used as an alarm clock. Light enters through the eyelids triggering the body to begin its wake-up cycle, including the release of cortisol, so that by the time the light is at full brightness, sleepers wake up on their own, without the need for an alarm.
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Norman E. Rosenthal

This article is about the American psychiatrist. For the English curator, see Norman Rosenthal.
Norman E. Rosenthal
Norman E. Rosenthal.jpg
Norman E. Rosenthal
NationalitySouth African
Occupationresearcher, professor, psychiatrist, author
TitleDr.
Website
www.ledlightboxes.org
Norman E. Rosenthal is a South African, author, psychiatrist and scientist who in the 1980s first described winter depression or seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and pioneered the use of light therapyfor its treatment.
Rosenthal was born and educated in South Africa and moved to the United States to complete his medical training. He established a private practice and spent 20 years as a researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) where he studied the disorders of mood, sleep, and biological rhythms.
Rosenthal’s research with SAD led him to write “Winter Blues” and two other books on the topic. More recently Rosenthal has written a book on the Transcendental Meditation technique and conducted research on its potential influence on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In total, he has written eight books, including one on the topic of jet lag, and published 200 scholarly papers.[1]

Contents

 
  • 1 Early life and education
  • 2 Career
    • 2.1 Seasonal affective disorder
  • 3 Books
  • 4 References
  • 5 External links

Early life and education

Rosenthal (b. 1950) was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. He received his M.B. B.Ch. (equivalent of an M.D.) from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and completed an internship in Internal Medicine and Surgery at Johannesburg General Hospital. He moved to the United States to further his education as a resident, and then became Chief Resident in psychiatry at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.[2]

Career

Rosenthal began a private practice in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 1979.[2] At the same time, he began a research fellowship with Frederick Goodwin at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland.[3] This was the beginning of a 20 year career with the NIMH as a Researcher, Research Fellow, and Senior Researcher.[2][4] Rosenthal became the director of seasonal studies at the institute and in 1985, led research with 160 participants on the effects of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and later studied the psycho-physiological phenomena of "spring fever".[5][6]
Rosenthal co-authored the book, How to Beat Jet Lag in 1993 and in 1998, he was named clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown Medical School. He became the Medical Director of Capital Clinical Research Associates in Rockville, Maryland in 2001 and is currently its CEO.[1] He received a special recognition award from the Society for Light Treatment & Biological Rhythms (SLBTR) in 1999 and published the book The Emotional Revolution: How the New Science of Feeling Can Transform Your Life in 2002.[7]
Early in his career, Rosenthal learned the Transcendental Meditation technique while in South Africa, but found that as a medical student and a medical resident he didn't have time to practice. Then 35 years later, after one of his patients had a dramatic improvement as a result of TM, he began practicing again and then began recommending it to his patients.[8] In 2011, he published Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation, which debuted at number seven on the New York Times' Best Sellers: Hardcover Advice, How-To And Miscellaneous list.[9]Earlier that year, Rosenthal published preliminary research on the potential influence of TM on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Rosenthal has written more than 200 scholarly publications and his writings have been featured in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Psychiatry Research, Archives of General Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry, Molecular Psychiatry, and Journal of Affective Disorders. He continues to conduct research on pediatric and adolescent SAD, pharmaceutical treatments for SAD and the effects of light therapy on seasonal bipolar disorder andcircadian rhythms.[12] He is often cited in mainstream media as an expert on the topic of SAD. 
According to his web site, Rosenthal has received the A.P.A. New York District Branch prize for paper written by a resident, the Psychiatric Institute Alumni Prize for best research performed by Psychiatric Institute Resident, the Public Health Service Commendation Medal, the Anna Monika Foundation Award for Depression Research, the Public Health Service Outstanding Service Award.[1]

Seasonal affective disorder

Rosenthal is referred to as the pioneer of research into seasonal affective disorder. In 1984, he coined the term and began studying the use oflight therapy as a treatment.[2][16][17][18][19] Rosenthal’s interest in studying the effects of the seasons on mood changes emerged when he emigrated from the mild climate of Johannesburg, South Africa, to the northeastern USA. As a resident in the psychiatry program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, he noticed that he was more energetic and productive during the long days of summer versus the shorter darker days of the winter.[20][21][22]
In 1980, his team at NIMH admitted a patient with depression who had observed seasonal changes within himself and thought previous research regarding melatonin release at night may be able to help him.[23][24] Rosenthal and his colleagues treated the patient with bright lights, which helped to successfully manage the depression.[2][20] They conducted a formal follow-up study to confirm the success. The results were published in 1984, officially describing SAD and pioneering light therapy as an effective treatment method.[25] The research on SAD and light therapy is inconclusive and in someways controversial, as not all researchers agree with Rosenthal's conclusions on the effect of light therapy and at what time of day the light should be administered.[5] [17][26]
Rosenthal has written three books on the topic of SAD; Seasonal Affective Disorders and Phototherapy (1989), Seasons of the Mind: Why You Get the Winter Blues and What You Can Do About It (1989) and Winter Blues (2005). As a result of his research and publications, "it is now widely acknowledged that winter depression has a sound medical basis, involving changes in the body's mood centers" associated with exposure to light.[18]Rosenthal later identified a form of reverse SAD which some experience in the summer season.[26]

Books

  1. Seasonal Affective Disorders and Phototherapy, edited with M. Blehar, New York: Guilford Press, 1989.
  2. Seasons of the Mind: Why You Get the Winter Blues and What You Can Do About It, New York: Bantam Books, 1989.
  3. How to Beat Jet Lag, co-authored with D.A.Oren, W. Reich and T.A. Wehr, New York: Henry Holt, 1993.
  4. Winter Blues, New York: Guilford Press, 1993.
  5. St. John's Wort: The Herbal Way to Feeling Good',' New York: Harper Collins, 1998.
  6. The Emotional Revolution: How the New Science of Feeling Can Transform Your Life, New York: Citadel, 2002.
  7. Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation, New York: Tarcher/Penguin, 2011.
  8. The Gift of Adversity: The Unexpected Benefits of Life's Difficulties, Setbacks, and Imperfections, New York: Tarcher, 2013.

References

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b c Rosenthal, Norman. Self Published Bio., retrieved July 2011
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Rosenthal, Norman. Penguin Group. (2011).Transcendence: Healing and Transformation through Transcendental Meditation, liner notes and pp 3-7
  3. Jump up^ Rosenthal, Norman. Guilford Press (2006). Winter Blues 6th Edition, pages 5-7
  4. ^ Jump up to:a b Rosenthal, Norman. May 29, 2011. Could Transcendental Meditation Help Veterans Suffering From Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Fox News  Retrieved October 2011
  5. ^ Jump up to:a b Dullea, Geoirgia. December 19 1985. Shedding Light on the Dark Day Blues New York Times Retrieved October 2011
  6. Jump up^ Freitag, Michael. March 22, 1989. Spring Fever Down to a ScienceNew York Times  Retrieved July 2011
  7. Jump up^ SLTBR web site, May 17 1999, SLTBR Symposium in Honor of the Contributions of Norman E. Rosenthal to the NIMH  Retrieved October 2011
  8. Jump up^ Rosenthal, Norman (2011). Transcendence: Healing and Transformation through Transcendental Meditation. New York: Tarcher/Penguin. pp. 6–8. ISBN 978-1-58542-873-1.
  9. Jump up^ Publishers Weekly Best Sellers. ABC News. June 10, 2011 Retrieved July 2011
  10. Jump up^ Lynch, David. July 13, 2011 A Transcendental Cure for Post-Traumatic Stress Wall Street Journal.  Retrieved October 2011
  11. Jump up^ Fisher, Christopher. June 3, 2011. Veterans Show 50 Percent Reduction In PTSD Symptoms After 8 Weeks Of Transcendental Meditation Behavioral Medicine Report  Retrieved July 2011
  12. Jump up^ Mechcatie, E. July 15, 2006 "SAD indication approved for antidepressant" OB/GYN News
  13. Jump up^ Rabin, Rani Caryn (November 14 2011) Light boxes may help melt those winter blues New York Times Retrieved Dec 5 2011
  14. Jump up^ Clark, Linda (December 4 2011)  Feeling sad its not your fault Metro Retrieved December 5 2011
  15. Jump up Shorter Days Bring Gloom To Those With SAD USA Today Retrieved Dec 5 2011)
  16. Jump up^ Borchard, Terese. June 2011. Transcendental Meditation: What Is It and How Does It Work? Psych Central  Retrieved July 2011
  17. ^ Jump up to:a b Brody, Jane E. Dec 29, 1993 NY Times, Health Scientists Find Ways to Reset Biological Clocks in Dim Winter Retrieved July 2011
  18. ^ Jump up to:a b Sussman, Paul. November 25, 2007. Insiders Guide: Season Affective Disorder. CNN  Retrieved July 2011
  19. Jump up^ Cosgrove, Chris. January 3, 2000.The Blue Season CNN Retrieved July 2011
  20. ^ Jump up to:a b Rosenthal, Norman (2005). Winter Blues: Third Edition. New York: Guilford Press
  21. Jump up^ Ega, Timothy P. December 21, 1987, Shining A Light On Winter Blahs Sports Illustrated  Retrieved July 201
  22. Jump up^ Brody Jane E. December 5, 2006 Getting a Grip on the Winter BluesNew York Times Retrieved July 2011
  23. Jump up^ Lewy A, Wehr TA, Goodwin FK, Newsome DA, Markey SP (1980) Light suppresses melatonin secretion in humans Science. Dec 12;210(4475):1267-9.
  24. Jump up^ Rosenthal NE, Lewy AJ, Wehr TA, Kern HE, Goodwin FK: (1983)Seasonal cycling in a bipolar patient Psychiatry Research, 8: 25-31
  25. Jump up^ Rosenthal NE, Sack DA, Gillin JC, Lewy AJ, Goodwin FK, Davenport Y, Mueller PS, Newsome DA, Wehr TA (1984) Seasonal affective disorder: A description of the syndrome and preliminary findings with light therapy Archives of General Psychiatry, 41: 72-80
  26. ^ Jump up to:a b Kotz, Deborah. July 8, 2011 Dealing with summer depressionBoston.com (Boston Globe)  Retrieved Oct 2011
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