Yale gets 4 Kline paintings, 2 Rothkos
Treatment guidelines recognize complex interactions of genetics and environment
Yale University Art Gallery in New
Haven has received a gift of six artworks by abstract expressionists Mark Rothko and Franz Kline, from the collection of late Seattle philanthropists Jane Lang Davis and Richard E. Lang, it was announced Thursday.
According to the Friday Foundation, which handles the Lang collection, the Kline paintings are three untitled works, dated from 1949, 1950 and 1961, and the
1942 “Portrait of Nijinsky.” That portrait is one of four known versions of the portrait of Vaslav Nijinsky in character as Petrushka, from Igor Stravinsky’s ballet. Another of those versions is owned by Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford.
The Rothko works are the 1950 “No. 11 (Yellow, Green, and Black),” one of Rothko’s iconic Color Field works, and an untitled oil on canvas from 1941—42, created during Rothko’s surrealist period.
A Yale press release, which called the Lang collection “one of the most important private collections of 20th-century art in the country,” said the donation broadens the scope of the gallery’s collection of midcentury European and American art.
“The Lang collection was assembled with passion, intelligence, and remarkable vision, and it shows,” said YUAG Director Stephanie Wiles. “The gift aligns with our mission to present the creative work of artists in multifaceted ways, whether by collecting art from different stages of their careers or representing the varied media they used.”
The Friday Foundation also donated 19 objects to the Seattle Art Museum.
The Yale gallery will present the works
in a small installation this year. That will be followed by a larger exhibit in February 2022, presenting the works with paintings, drawings and sculpture from the gallery’s collection of 20th-century art.
The art gallery is currently closed to the public, as is Yale Center for British Art, due to the coronavirus pandemic. artgallery.yale. edu.
Real Art Ways has once again gained support from the National Endowment for the Arts for its Real Art Awards competition, which offers support for emerging artists.
Upon learning that the grant had come through, Real Art Ways announced that the applications are now open for the 2021 Real Art Awards. Six artists will each win $2,500, a solo exhibition of their work in the RAW galleries (including an opening reception and curatorial support), and publication of an essay about the exhibition.
Real Art Ways Executive Director Will Wilkins says the NEA support is crucial to the awards program, which has existed for several years. “These are highly competitive grants,” Wilkins says. “We’ve gotten support from them multiple times. We match the NEA money with our own funding, but what they give is essential.”
“We are able to put out an open call now for emerging artists, and there is no charge for the artists to participate — no application fees or anything like that. Information about the awards, including a submission application, can be found at realartways. org/arts/visual-arts.
The competition helps Real Art Ways as much as it does the artists, Wilkins says. “It’s important for us as well. It’s our way of becoming aware of artists we might not otherwise know about.”
In a press release state Rep. John Larson congratulated Real Art Ways, saying “Our cultural institutions have been hit particularly hard by this pandemic. The arts are a vital part of our society and they need our support in weathering this crisis.”
The gallery spaces at Real Art Ways were closed in the early months of the pandemic, but were able to reopen in August under state COVID safety guidelines. The RAW cinema space is currently open Fridays through Sundays, with plans to expand the screening schedule once vaccines have been more widely administered. RAW held some outdoor screenings and concerts in the fall and expects to hold similar events in the spring, until the outlook for indoor events improves.
In the first round of funding for 2021, announced Feb. 4, the NEA awarded over $27,500,000 in grants and fellowships to artists and arts organizations nationwide. Connecticut artists received $222,500. Besides Real Art Ways, state recipients include the Litchfield Jazz
Festival, the Long Wharf Theatre, the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Yale Repertory Theater, Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum and the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center plus a literary fellowship
for UConn-based poet/translator Brian Sneeden.
Asthma may be a disease with one name. But experts say that unbeknown to most people who have it, it is not just one disease, nor is there a “one-size-fits-all” treatment for it.
Rather, as detailed in a new 54-page set of guidelines developed by an expert panel, in the 13 years since the last guidelines were issued, tremendous progress has been made in understanding the causes and physiological effects of various kinds of asthma and the different approaches needed to treat them and minimize flare-ups in children and adults. The guidelines were recently published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
“In recent years, we’ve recognized that everyone’s asthma is a little different, with different underlying mechanisms, and the paradigm for treating it has changed completely,” said Dr. Michael Wechsler, an asthma specialist at National Jewish Health in Denver.
Asthma is now recognized as a far more complex condition than experts realized in 1991 when the first comprehensive guidelines were issued. It is now considered a syndrome with many different characteristics, or phenotypes, that result from the interaction between a person’s genetics and environment.
Also, though not discussed in detail in the updated guidelines, the newest treatment with what are known as biologics is heralding new forms of personalized therapy for patients with severe asthma that is not well-controlled by other, albeit cheaper, remedies. Biologics are drugs made from modified molecules from the cells of live organisms designed to target specific disease pathways that culminate in asthma symptoms.
“The last 13 years have seen an explosion of new strategies, new concepts, new understanding of mechanism, new drugs and new treatments,” Wechsler said. “In just the last five years, five new drugs have been approved for treating asthma.”
The new guidelines can be especially helpful for people being treated for asthma, mild or severe, that is now not adequately controlled.
More than half of asthma patients are treated by primary care doctors, with referrals to specialists like pulmonologists or allergists when their condition is severe or doesn’t respond well to treatment, said Dr. Michelle Cloutier, professor emerita at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine who chaired the expert panel.
Asthma afflicts about 25 million people in the United States, including
5.5 million children.
It is not an infection, although the body reacts as if an enemy had attacked it. Rather, asthma is a chronic respiratory disease in people whose airways become inflamed in response to various triggering substances or behaviors. The inflamed airways swell and narrow and the muscles surrounding them tighten, causing a bronchospasm. Unless the bronchospasm is quickly reversed, it can become very difficult to breathe and result in hospitalization or death.
Although people with asthma always have some degree of airway inflammation, they are particularly sensitive to certain factors that can make the inflammation much worse and result in labored breathing. Thus, some people with asthma have environmental allergies, for example, to pollen, animal dander, dust mites, rodents or cockroaches, that when encountered can trigger an asthmatic attack. Others are sensitive to irritants in the air, like tobacco smoke, air pollutants or substances with strong odors.
For example, Wechsler said, “Even what is used to clean can be irritating to a person with asthma.”
For some people with asthma, a viral infection, like the flu or common cold, or use of a medication like aspirin, an NSAID or beta-blocker, can enhance inflammation in the airways and result in labored breathing. Still others experience constricted airways when they exercise, especially in cold weather.
Even strong emotions — like fear, anger, excitement or laughter — and sudden changes in the weather are problems for some people with asthma.
Researchers now recognize that the triggering event of an asthma attack can have different manifestations within the airways and therefore respond better to different treatments. As Cloutier explained, in allergic asthma, inflammatory cells called eosinophils collect in the airways, but when a viral infection triggers the inflammation, cells called neutrophils are released, warranting a different treatment.
The new guidelines highlight the value of a measurement called FENO that stands for fractional exhaled nitric oxide, a biomarker described as useful in correctly diagnosing and adequately treating asthma in different patients. For children 5 and older, a nitric oxide measurement can help confirm the diagnosis of asthma and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment.
Although the guidelines do not provide hardand-fast rules, they offer valuable treatment suggestions when currently used remedies do not result in the best relief possible. For example, the panel stated unequivocally that encasing mattresses and pillows in allergy-protective covers is not in itself an adequate remedy for someone allergic to dust mites.
“Single-component interventions often do not work” in efforts to control indoor allergens, the panel wrote. Among the combined approaches suggested were using pesticides against housedust mites on carpets, mattresses and furniture; air-filtration systems and air purifiers, including those with HEPA filters; removal of wall-to-wall carpets and area rugs, at least in the allergic person’s bedroom; and mold mitigation.
The report also cautioned against relying on a negative result from an allergy test if the person reports worsening symptoms when exposed to the allergen tested.
On the other hand, some patients who test positive on an allergy test may not react to that substance in real life. Some may have developed a tolerance to the allergen that could be undone by attempts to reduce the patient’s exposure to it.
Dear Cathy: We have an 18-month-old tabby. When we brought her home from the shelter, she had an upper respiratory infection and chlamydia, which was passed on from her mother. For six months, we had to “burrito” her to give her eyedrops. Now, if we pick her up, she only allows us to hold her for literally 10 seconds before she starts to hiss, bite and scratch, which makes it impossible to give her routine nail cuts or get her into her cat carrier for a trip to the veterinarian.
Our vet prescribed a tranquilizer for vet visits, but even under the influence she becomes a devil cat at the vet, escaping and running around the office, hissing and biting. We tried the same tranquilizers at home for her nail clipping with the same results.
We think this behavior developed from her earlier medication routine. She is otherwise a sweet cat and will brush up against us and allow us to pet her. What can we do to regain her trust?
— Frances, Levittown, New York
Dear Frances: While some cats simply don’t like to be held, early experiences can shape behaviors. Let’s replace an unhappy memory with a new experience associated with food. Here’s what you can do.
Get her a feline pheromone collar to wear. These have a calming effect on cats. Let her wear the collar for a few days so she is in the proper mindset for training.
When you start training, pick her up — but only a few feet off the floor and only for a few seconds. Talk to her in a sweet voice, and then immediately put her down in front of a tempting treat or special wet cat food. It’s important you put
her down before she reacts. Essentially, you are rewiring her brain to associate being held with a special treat. For the next few weeks, pick her up only to give her the special treat or food, increasing how long you hold her and how high off the floor.
After a few weeks, reintroduce nail trims, but only do a paw a day, followed by a treat. When taking her to the vet, drop a towel over her to pick her up and put her in the crate. With time, you can build up her tolerance to these things. But remember, some cats
simply don’t like to be held and prefer to sit on your lap instead.
Dear Cathy: I have a 7-year-old dog named Baxter. I have had him for five years. I have a doggy door that he uses to go into a fenced backyard. However, he pees on the dishwasher, refrigerator, washing machine, couch and cardboard boxes. If my new boyfriend leaves the door to his room open, Baxter pees on surfaces in his room, most recently on a computer sitting on the floor. I have never caught him peeing. I always just
clean up the mess and do not yell at him because he is sensitive. I am at a loss at what to do.
— Autumn, Littleton, Colorado
Dear Autumn: Your dog is likely marking the home to show that it is his, and the new boyfriend likely triggered the behavior even more. There are a few ways to address this problem. First, make sure your dog is fixed. Second, get a canine pheromone collar for him to wear so he is more relaxed and receptive to training. Third, make sure you pick up around the house to limit his places to pee. No computers, cardboard boxes or dirty laundry on the floor.
Next, use an enzymatic cleaner (available at the pet store) to remove all traces of the urine so he is not drawn back to the same spot. Then, start leaving treats in these areas for him to find. If he thinks he might find a treat by the dishwasher, he is less likely to pee on it. Don’t rely on the doggy door. Routinely take him outside to reduce his ability to mark.
Finally, have your boyfriend feed your dog, give him treats, pet him and take him for walks. They need to forge a relationship since your dog may be feeling anxious with his presence. The walks will also encourage Baxter to mark outside, which should help limit his inside offenses.