Emily Lu was a student at Harvard University when she saw people with Alzheimer’s respond to works of art.
Over and over, she witnessed scenes of art awakening old memories and lifting the spirits of people with Alzheimer’s, a degenerative brain disease that robs the mind of memories and reason.
“I remember a woman who was at first withdrawn and quiet, and then she saw a Monet painting, a sunset, and she opened up. She talked about her childhood, about how she and her brother were professional violinists,” said Lu, who created the Harvard Alzheimer’s Buddies for the Arts program.
The woman smiled and started gesturing as if she were playing a piano. It was a special moment.
Lu is bringing special moments to Emory.
Lu, who is graduating in May from medical school at Emory University, has created the new Museum Moments program at the Michael C. Carlos Museum.
Lu, 26, modeled the program at the Carlos museum after Meet Me at MoMA, a program at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, which uses specially trained tour guides to help people with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s to connect to art.
For now, the program at the Carlos museum is designed for people with the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s. Lu hopes to eventually expand the program for people with more advanced stages.
“I think art is something that speaks to the human condition, to life and aging and all of those moments in life,” she said. “It can make you happy and sad. There are no wrong answers.”
She has also seen people respond to all genres of art, including abstract pieces such as “Boogie Woogie.”
“It’s a series of yellow, blue and white shapes,” she said. “And there’s nothing immediately recognizable. But it’s very dynamic, very colorful and expressive. And people see different things: Some people see buildings. Some people see street lights. Some see a city grid. And for some people, it reminds them of dance and motion.”
On a recent afternoon, a docent shared intricate details of an ancient sculpture of Terpsichore, the muse of dance.
But then the docent, Sharon LeMaster, asked a series of personal questions that indicated this was no ordinary tour.
“Does this remind you of anything?” she asked the group.
She paused.
“How does this make you feel?”
She paused again.
“Have any of you traveled to Greece?”
Bart Lewis, 65, smiled. He’s traveled to the Mediterranean country three times, including a backpacking adventure with his college roommate and then years later on a romantic getaway with his wife of 40 years, Doreen.
“I had one of those books about going to Europe on $5 a day, and my roommate and I got by on $3 a day,” he said with a laugh. “We took the train and when we were in Spain, we had a four-course meal with a liter of wine for 60 pesetas. And back in those days, it was 70 pesetas to the dollar.”
The scheduled tours, which started in March, take place one or two times every month. The next three are scheduled for April 25, May 16 and June 20.
Patient docents answer questions and take their time moving from one collection to the next. Chairs are set up in each viewing area to accommodate the visitors. About 30 visitors chat and marvel at collections from around the globe.
Ken Hepburn, a professor in the Emory School of Nursing who helps develop caregiving programs for people living with Alzheimer’s, said art can be deeply moving.
“Whether it’s a painting, a sculpture, a piece of music or poem — it’s intact in itself; it is whole with no extraneous [or distracting] parts,” said Hepburn. “The disease erodes so many things and many capacities, but there remains an experiencing person, one who is increasingly in the moment. And an encounter with a work of art may, therefore, offer the possibility of uncomplicated enjoyment — and delight.”
During the tour, LeMaster talked about how the sculpture of Terpsichore was carved out of marble during the late fourth century to the mid-second century B.C.
One of the visitors said she could imagine the sculpture in a garden.
In another dimly lit room, the group looked at ancient Egyptian artifacts that include a stone sculpture of Medusa. The group discussed the expression on her face. Was it a look of shock or astonishment? LeMaster asked the group what they thought of her eyes.
Lewis said he likes going to museums because it keeps his mind engaged, and because it’s an enjoyable experience.
“Whether it’s going to have an overall long-term positive experience on me, I don’t know. We hope it will,” he said. “But it was fun.”
Inside the museum, Lewis strolled down memory lane — recalling the backpacking adventure through Europe with his college roommate, and then reminiscing about a romantic getaway with his wife during the late 1980s.
Lewis, the retired chief of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Research Division, was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment about two years ago.
While he no longer works, he tries to stay active and engaged. He’s learned ways to help with his daily life, like keeping a pocket briefcase and “writing everything down.”
After the tour ended, the Lewises stayed behind and looked at the exhibit “Mandala: Sacred Circle in Tibetan Buddhism.”
“Museums are something we both like,” said Bart Lewis.
And something they will continue to enjoy together.
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Museum Moments
The tour is open to people with mild cognitive impairment, early Alzheimer’s and dementia along with a family member or caregiver. 1 p.m. April 25, May 16 and June 20. Free. Michael C. Carlos Museum, 571 S. Kilgo Circle, Atlanta. To register (required), call 404-728-4771.
Note: The Carlos museum plans to extend the tours past June, but no additional dates have been set. Also, though the tour is free, there may be a charge in the future.
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