Laura Pacchini has always been interested in art. As a college student at Denison, she studied both Art History and Painting. Later, she trained as a graphic designer, which led to a successful career in design, marketing and brand strategy at companies like Landor and Williams-Sonoma. Art was always her first love, however, and eventually she went back to school to become a fine artist. I reached out to Laura after hearing about her work with a group of artists during the current coronavirus pandemic. Together, they transformed a make-shift field hospital that was set up in San Francisco’s Presidio to handle the overflow of patients.
How did you first get involved with the initiative to paint murals in this provisional covid hospital? San Francisco District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani reached out to me asking if I could organize a group of artists to paint the rooms of the field hospital, also known as the alternate care site. How did you recruit other artists? I am a part of an art critique group and have a healthy network of artist colleagues/friends. I began asking, and -- as the nature of good causes can be -- they asked friends as well. We ended up with a wonderful group of painters. Were you given any parameters for the artwork? (Was there subject matter or colors you were asked to use or avoid?) Absolutely. Dr. Andrea Tenner of University of California, San Francisco, who is in charge of emergency care, used to run the ebola field hospitals in Sub-Saharan Africa. So, she understood firsthand that because visitors were prohibited due to the contagious nature of covid (and ebola), painted work aided in the recovery of the patients. We talked about the power and psychology of color, and agreed that blue and green and scenes of nature are especially powerful. How many panels of art has your team created to date? How many hours did it take? 97 -- we have been working on and off since October, and very recently finished. What kind of volunteer work, community service, or advocacy work had you done prior to this project? I had been involved in food distribution, public space gardening, and painting public schools. What have the artists gotten out of the experience? The artists all comment that this has been one of the great highlights of the pandemic. We have all been moved by the effect that painting for unknown people to aid in their well-being has had, and it has definitely elevated our mood and lives. The healing energy brought to the space is palpable with the art in place. What kind of feedback have you received? Very, very positive feedback. What did you want to be when you were 16 years old? An artist! If you could travel back in time, what advice would you give to your 17-year-old self? Is that the same advice you would give me now? Follow your passion, but be sure to have a skill that can allow you to earn money if that passion is in a field that may be uncertain of its ability to sustain a life. Personally, in addition to art, I also studied graphic design, which allowed me to support myself until I was able to spend more time as a painter. And even now I teach to support myself and give back.
Images from the covid field hospital
Comments
Post a Comment