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Boca Raton, FL - The National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, Inc. (NOCC) is pleased to announce the premiere of "body image | body essence, viewing ovarian cancer through the art of sculpture." This very important show will debut to the public Saturday, November 20th, at the Las Olas Art Center (LOAC) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The show will remain open to the public until February 10, 2005, before traveling to other cities throughout the United States.
The body image | body essence is part of a major National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Campaign launched by the NOCC in conjunction with Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and John and Mary Magnan.
The show is a very personal journey, on display to the public, by artist John Magnan. It was through his wife's diagnosis of ovarian cancer that body image | body essence was created.
John Magnan began creating sculptures soon after his wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Powerfully affected by the total surprise of her diagnosis and the ordeal of her surgery and treatment, he responded with an unblinking artistic look at the experience of dealing with cancer. With the support of Massachusetts General Hospital, his initial work developed and grew into body image | body essence, a visual vocabulary for ovarian cancer awareness.
Using recurrent imagery of hair loss, Mr. Magnan explores the conflict between "who I am" and "what I look like" faced by women with ovarian cancer after its invasive surgery and follow-up treatments. His work also addresses other aspects of changed self-image, both somber and lighthearted. Solemn issues of scarring, fatigue and fertility can be found in some pieces, but so can explorations of "chemo brain," or hair that refuses to grow back the same as before.
In the end, however, the artist's deeply personal journey transcends the individual to illuminate the universal. "This cathartic, educational and informative exhibit is a powerful commentary on the shared human experiences of health, sickness, death and personal triumph," according to John Magnan.
John Magnan studied sculpture at the Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore and received his MFA in sculpture from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. A lifelong woodworker, he retired from a program management career to pursue a second career in art. John lives and works in the Waterfront Historic District of New Bedford, Massachusetts. His work was recently featured on CBS Sunday Morning.
Who is NOCC and how did it come about?
In December 1989, Gail Hayward, a 47-year-old woman was diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer. Although her physicians told her that the disease would most likely be fatal within two years, Gail survived for ten and a half years until May 2000. What she did in those ten and a half years was to build what is now the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition.
Rather than focus on her own serious health issues, Gail chose to turn her attention to other women. Frustrated by the lack of information and public knowledge about ovarian cancer, she started to network with other survivors and physicians throughout the United States. She rallied individuals one by one and shaped them into a coalition committed to saving women's lives by working for better education on the risks and symptoms of ovarian cancer. At her kitchen table, from her hospital bed, or hooked to IV's in her home, Gail sat with her phone and laptop, building a national ovarian cancer movement.
In 1995, Gail incorporated the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition as the country's first comprehensive organization providing awareness and education about ovarian cancer. With the assistance of a prestigious national medical advisory board and board of directors from around the country, Gail set out to develop an organization that would fuel the ovarian cancer awareness movement. She developed the first national information hotline 1-888-OVARIAN and the www.ovarian.org website, initiated the National September Ovarian Cancer Awareness public information campaign and created informational brochures and resource literature on ovarian cancer.
Within two years of its incorporation, NOCC was acknowledged as the leading educational and information organization on ovarian cancer in the nation.
With its national headquarters in Boca Raton, FL, NOCC currently has close to 60 licensed divisions throughout the United States. These dedicated volunteers are passionate about the mission and committed to the goals of the organization
LOAC is located at 600 Southeast 2nd Court "where Las Olas meets the tunnel" directly across from the Cheesecake Factory. Parking is available either at the garage directly above the Cheesecake Factory, or in the pubic lot off of SE 8th Avenue, between 2nd Court and Las Olas Boulevard.
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