02 May 2025

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Art Students Lift Eyes and Spirits in a Tufts Dental Clinic

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If you’re already nervous about going to the dentist, entering an office with sterile white walls “just adds to the fear,” said Nancy Marks, Tisch College of Civic Life’s community service coordinator for Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. Over the years, Marks has countered that by installing hundreds of artworks in the Tufts dental clinics. Now a new collaboration between the dental school, SMFA at Tufts, Tisch College, and the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences has brought original paintings by Tufts art students to one of the clinics, and patients are noticing.

The nine artworks were put in place in December in the ceiling right above the operatory chairs in the Atlantic Clinic on the second floor. One goal, Marks said, is to give nervous patients something to focus on during their treatment. But she also sees it as a way to build trust between patient and provider. One dental student told Marks how a patient commented on the painting of a lake surrounded by flower-covered hills, made by artist DBCO, AG26 (MFA), which got them both talking about fishing.

“The art can be an object on which to hang a first conversation, which doesn’t have to be about the art,” Marks said. “It’s about having another way to step into somebody’s life.”

A patient of dental student Wendy Mauti, D25, noticed the art right away, and told her that the paintings added “liveliness” and “good energy” to the space, making it “more than just a place where you hear drills and smell dental things.”

“He has a very good eye for art,” she said. “So he loved it.”

Master of Fine Arts students at SMFA volunteered to create the paintings, each of which had to fit into the space of a rectangular ceiling tile. “We went through a professional process where they submitted proposals with sketches and designs, and we vetted them with the help of two dental students,” said Lisa Fiore, assistant dean for the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. It gave the art students an experience similar to what they would go through for a juried exhibition or a commission.

Kenson Truong, associate director of graduate programs at SMFA, welcomed this chance to introduce art students to career opportunities adjacent to dentistry and medicine, which could include helping patients via art therapy or creating works for hospitals and other medical facilities. There are more ways to be an artist, he said, “than just showing in a gallery.”

Recently, some of the art students visited the dental school to see their artworks in place and meet some of the dental students and faculty. Dara Rogers, assistant dean for clinical affairs, thanked them for their work, and noted that art can be a vital tool for a dentist, whether it is to distract, soothe, or engage. She said that patients in her private practice always comment about the mobiles that she hangs in her operatory—and always notice if one is missing. “Artwork really is very important for them,” she said. 

Artist MiJung Yun, AG25 (MFA), is very familiar with the Tufts dental clinics, as she has taken her daughter Olivia, 11, there many times for pediatric and orthodontic visits. She chose to paint luxurious green leaves, inspired by a plant that she has in her own studio and that she finds comfort in seeing every day. “I hope that people feel the same way” when they look at her painting, she said, maybe conjuring up the calm mood of being in a forest. 

Artist Yulia Niu, AG25 (MFA), was drawn to the project’s focus on community, which is a theme of her master’s thesis. Her painting, a vibrant mushroom forest, offers patients an illusionary escape during their treatment. "The fantasy mushroom forest can act as a portal," Niu said. "I hope it captures patients' attention and transports them into a world of color and light, easing the anxiety." Knowing her work will be a lasting presence in the clinic made the project especially meaningful. "It's rewarding to think that my painting might bring comfort to patients for years to come." 

Author: Julie Flaherty

Source: https://now.tufts.edu/