Sandy Kessler Kaminski
Artwork Location: First Floor Corridor
Materials: Paint, ink, polycarbonate, and aluminum composite sheeting
These three paintings open a dialogue with the historic bronze plaques across the hallway. They offer insight into patient care and community engagement at the hospital over time.
Changes to the hospital’s location and design are indicated in the first pair of figures—a patron from the early 1900s and an architect from the 1970s. The newsletter printed behind the patron has the original name and location of UPMC Shadyside—the Pittsburgh Homeopathic Hospital on Smithfield Street in Downtown.
The central pair imagines a nurse from the 1860s with a contemporary nurse comparing scientific breakthroughs and new technologies in patient care. X-rays were invented in 1895. Imagine her surprise learning about MRIs.
The artist researched the hospital archive at the Heinz History Center. Service organizations began with the Hospital’s founding in 1866. Community members regularly donated food and books. Volunteers routinely sewed gowns, linens, blankets, and sheets for patients. This continued into the 1960s. The two women sewing are paired with a contemporary person, representing many fundraising and volunteer efforts to bring services, and the arts, to patients.
Commissioned by UPMC with generous support from the Shadyside Hospital Foundation
These three artworks by Sandy Kessler Kaminski were inspired by the history of UPMC Shadyside. They connect contemporary community members, health care, and staff with their historic counterparts.
As soon as the artist entered the hallway, she was immediately curious about the names and events commemorated on the plaques. She spent months researching people and examining the hospital archives at the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Sandy developed three different paintings that portray historic and contemporary conversations about building the hospital, patient care, and community volunteers. In this photo, the artist is deciding on the scale and location of the paintings.
Each artwork includes silk-screened backgrounds and hand painted figures. Sandy demonstrated how she pulls prints in her studio. Photo by Elan Mizrahi.
The artwork in this painting depicts a conversation between a nurse from the 1860s with a contemporary nurse. Notice the differences in their clothes and the equipment they are using. The background of this painting is a silk screen of a historic patient chart and contemporary instructions for patients about an MRI.
The artist posing in the hallway after a successful installation! In this painting, the artist contrasts historic volunteers who sewed bedsheets for patients with a contemporary community member who gives their time and expertise to the hospital.
