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Artistic seniors: healthy aging through creative programs
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Artistic seniors: healthy aging through creative programs
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Content
ARTISTIC SENIORS:
HEALTHY AGING THROUGH CREATIVE PROGRAMS
by
Raquel Estupinan
A Professional Project Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(BROADCAST JOURNALISM)
May 2012
Copyright 2012 Raquel Estupinan
ii
Table of Contents
Abstract iii
Artistic Seniors: Healthy Aging Through Creative Programs Script 1
Bibliography 9
iii
Abstract
There is a general consensus among those who study aging that integrating sustained
creative arts programs into the lives of elderly adults generally improves their quality of
life. In 2006, geriatric psychiatrist Dr. Gene Cohen published a study that found that
elders’ sustained involvement in professionally conducted arts programs produced
positive results. Three sample groups of elders ages 65 and over in centers across the
United States (Washington, D.C., Brooklyn and San Francisco) reported in a time period
of two years better general health, fewer doctor visits and less need for medication usage.
These sample groups were tested against a control group.
Research on the effects that artistic programs have on people with dementia produces
similar qualitative results. In a 2006 article by Anne Basting, director of the Center on
Age & Community at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Basting talks about her
research along with her experiences leading artistic projects for elderly adults and the
kinds of results she witnessed. Basting states that because the arts allow for connections
on an emotional level, people with dementia are still able to express themselves: “Where
rational language and factual memory have failed people with dementia, the arts offer an
avenue for communication and connection with caregivers, loved ones, and the greater
world” (p. 17). Basting says that even though most researchers who study aging would
agree that there is much anecdotal evidence that arts programs benefit people with
dementia, she says the quantitative data that is available is small in scale, often done in
single facilities that lack a control group.
iv
Other research broadens its scope to include elderly people who do not necessarily have a
form of degenerative illness, such as Dr. Gene Cohen’s research (2006). Researchers and
gerontologists Michael Patterson and Susan Perlstein (2011) explain that evidence exists
that the combination of physical and mental activities for seniors produces positive health
benefits: “physical exercise and mental exercise promote neurogenesis. It is now known
that the human brain can continue to grow new neurons in the hippocampus, the brain’s
memory maker, and that the physical exercise stimulates growth of new brain cells” (p.
31). Senior citizen centers that have the space capabilities to host artistic programs and
physical activities for residents have the potential to in some way improve the lives of the
elderly adults who live there, but it is often the case that a lack of financial resources
limits this potential.
This documentary profiles three senior citizens who live at the Burbank Senior Artists
Colony, a non-assisted living apartment complex where people age 55 and older can
participate in professionally conducted artistic programs (free of charge with their rent).
The Burbank Senior Artists Colony offers its residents classes in painting, watercolor,
sculpting, singing, theater, video making, and exercise, among other classes; residents do
not have to have prior artistic experience. This documentary introduces Teddi Shattuck,
74, Gene Schklair, 81, and Dolly Brittan, 74, who were all artists in some capacity before
moving into the Burbank Senior Artists Colony, which is why they were attracted to this
center, but who also have learned and developed other artistic skills since moving in to
the Artists Colony.
v
The purpose of this documentary is to show examples of older adults who continue to
engage their minds in creative activities, and by doing so, stimulate their minds and learn
new skills, despite old age. To provide expertise on the subject of housing for older adults
and the kinds of stereotypes society has about the elderly, this documentary includes an
interview with Jon Pynoos, a gerontology professor at the University of Southern
California, and an expert in senior housing and elderly policy and planning. Pynoos is
familiar with the Artists Colony and some of the residents as he often takes the students
in his classes for visits. He also reviewed this documentary. Tim Carpenter, who is the
founder of the non-profit EngAge: The Art of Active Aging, which manages the artistic
programs at the Burbank Senior Artists Colony, also lent his expertise to this
documentary.
1
Artistic Seniors: Healthy Aging Through Creative Programs Script
VIDEO AUDIO
OPENING SEQUENCE:
NAT SOT:
Painting instructor Erik Houg teaches
resident Graciela Lovera painting
techniques in one of the art studios at the
Burbank Senior Artists Colony
11:04:42-11:05:04
Erik: Yeah, painting is about the only thing
that does that for you—
Graciela: Yeah.
Erik: Yeah, it’s like the only thing I do,
where I don’t want to be doing something
else.
Graciela: Yes, exactly. So instead of sitting
in my apartment doing nothing, I come here
and paint. And he’s helping me learn some
new things.
VO: NARRATOR
SEQUENCE:
Resident Walter Hurlburt painting on
canvas
11:00:27-11:00:46
NATS:
Walter Hurlburt talks about his painting.
Erik Houg asks Walter Hurlburt a
question.
THERE ARE MORE THAN 40 MILLION
SENIOR ADULTS IN THE UNITED
STATES, AGED 65 AND OLDER, WHO
LIVE RETIREMENT IN MANY WAYS.
BUT IN BURBANK, CALIFORNIA,
THERE’S A GROUP WHO SPEND
THEIR RETIREMENT YEARS DEFYING
A STEREOTYPE THAT SAYS OLDER
ADULTS CAN’T LEARN NEW SKILLS.
(U.S. Census Bureau 2010
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/p
ages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_SF1_QTP1&
prodType=table)
SOT: TIM CARPENTER
CG: DIRECTOR, ENGAGE: THE ART
OF ACTIVE AGING
9:48:43-9:48:56
Pan of hallway with art work hanging
We change aging in the way people think
about aging by transforming what you’re
sitting in at a senior apartment community
into a vibrant center of life-long learning,
wellness and creativity.
2
VO: NARRATOR
Zoom out BSAC building
11:33:19-11:33:28
LOCATOR:
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA
THE BURBANK SENIOR ARTISTS
COLONY IS A NON-ASSISTED LIVING
APARTMENT COMPLEX WITH TWO
ART STUDIOS, A THEATER, AND A
LIBRARY AMONG OTHER SPACES
FOR CREATIVE ACTIVITIES.
ALTHOUGH THE FOUNDERS
ORIGINALLY ENVISIONED A PLACE
THAT WOULD ATTRACT RETIRED
ARTISTS, THE ARTIST COLONY ALSO
DRAWS IN MANY SENIORS WHO HAD
NEVER PICKED UP A PAINT BRUSH.
SEQUENCE:
Graciela Lovera paints with teacher Erik
Houg
11:05:05-11:05:36
SOT: GRACIELA LOVERA
11:30:06-11:30:21
No matter how long you’ve been doing it,
you still learn new things. You know, a
different way of doing things, so, it will
keep you going. You know, if you keep
interested in something. It will keep you
going. I think it’s a good idea.
SOT: JON PYNOOS
CG: USC PROFESSOR OF
GERONTOLOGY/EXPERT IN SENIOR
HOUSING, ELDER POLICY AND
PLANNING
18:16:53-18:17:26
NATS AND SEQUENCE:
Gene Schklair shows mini gold and wax
sculpture inside glass case
18:16:25-18:16:44
CG: GENE SCHKLAIR
RESIDENT, BURBANK SENIOR
ARTISTS COLONY
I think we’ve underestimated older persons’
interests in these kinds of activities and their
ability to engage in them and to learn. Uh, it
used to be that we thought people’s
creativity ended when they were old and
that people were just sitting in rocking
chairs. And now we’ve discovered, not only
are they interested in it, but it adds to
healthy engagement with other people and
in brain activity.
3
SOT: TEDDI SHATTUCK
5:15:15-5:15:35
CG: TEDDI SHATTUCK
RESIDENT, BURBANK SENIOR
ARTISTS COLONY
SEQUENCE:
Teddi Shattuck paints canvas in studio
10:29:21-10:29:31
10:28:36-10:28:32
10:30:41-10:30:48
Wonderful things happen every day, you
know. I think that’s the lesson in life that we
never know what’s around the corner and
that’s what makes life so exciting, you
know. I just think it’s great. I think every
day is such a gift. I do.
SOT: TIM CARPENTER
9:57:38-9:57:47
9:57:06-9:57:17
It’s inherent in our society that people think
that getting older is a negative thing. We
have a disease-oriented mentality around
ageism, around aging.
We look at it as if it’s it’s an ending, that
that older people have no value once they
get past a certain point or their work years
are over, that their value somehow
diminishes.
VO: NARRATOR
SEQUENCE:
Teddi Shattuck in the art studio touches up
a wooden canvas used as a backdrop to the
claymation project. She talks about her
recent trip to England where she visited
art museums.
5:21:07-5:21:37
TEDDI SHATTUCK IS A 75-YEAR-OLD
ARTIST AND ONE OF ABOUT 150
RESIDENTS AT THE BURBANK
SENIOR ARTISTS COLONY WHO
CONTINUES TO LEARN CREATIVE
WAYS OF EXPRESSION.
NATS AND SEQUENCE:
Teddi Shattuck looks through her scripts
of plays she’s written
6:38:24-6:38:42
SOT: TEDDI SHATTUCK
6:13:52-6:14:16
I had just moved in, and they had needed
another person to make up enough for this
class. And I always thought I had trouble
with the written word because I was so
visual, totally visual. And then we got there
and said, you know we need somebody to
write a play and I went, ok, I’ll try. And it
4
NATS:
Teddi Shattuck looks through scripts and
love letters
6:39:03-6:39:29
SOT: TEDDI SHATTUCK
6:13:03-6:13:15
just came out almost non-stop.
And now I’m writing one, which is called
‘Beginning Endings,’ but this is more
serious. And it’s about people who have
reached that time in their life where they
realize they haven’t accomplished, or
they’re changing their values, or ideas.
SOT: GENE SCHKLAIR
9:10:55-9:11:09
My earliest memory of doing anything has
been sculpting and about 4 years old. And I
don’t know how good it was. It doesn’t
matter. It’s just that I was drawn to it.
VO: NARRATOR
NATS AND SEQUENCE:
Gene Schklair talks about a photo he took
and modeled a sculpture after it.
8:34:59-8:36:08
81-YEAR-OLD GENE SCHKLAIR IS A
RETIRED DENTAL SURGEON. HE HAS
LIVED AT THE BURBANK SENIOR
ARTIST COLONY SINCE ITS OPENING
IN 2005. RESIDENTS HERE ARE 55
YEARS OR OLDER.
SOT: GENE SCHKLAIR
9:16:27-9:16:43
9:16:50-9:17:13
CONTINUE SEQUENCE FROM
ABOVE
This is the first time in my life that I’m not
driven to continue making things, sculptures
and art. Why? I don’t know. I mean, when
Glorya died, I emptied out…And I felt
nothing inside. And I can’t explain it any
other way, I told this to Dolly already, too. I
uh, my my life as an artist was non-existent.
I just couldn’t be creative anymore. There
was no ideas coming through, and I always
had ideas.
VO: NARRATOR
NATS AND SEQUENCE:
Gene Schklair comments on the sculpture
THE ARTS PROGRAM AT THE
BURBANK FACILITY PROMOTES
5
of the old woman who visitors
accidentally broke
9:27:08-9:27:51
HEALTHY AGING AND CONTINUED
LEARNING. RESIDENTS CAN
EXERCISE THEIR SKILLS AND LEARN
NEW ONES BY TAKING CLASSES ON
PAINTING, ACTING, SCULPTING, AND
WRITING, AMONG OTHERS. THE
COST FOR ONE AND TWO BEDROOM
APARTMENTS RANGES FROM
SIXTEEN TO TWENTY-FIVE
HUNDRED DOLLARS, WITH SOME
LOW-INCOME APARTMENTS
AVAILABLE.
(http://engagedaging.org/index.php?option=com_con
tent&view=article&id=1&Itemid=2)
SOT: JON PYNOOS
18:13:31-18:13:45
Pan of Gene Schklair’s sculpture of an
arm coming out of a wall down to Gene’s
smiling face explaining what he made,
then pan back to the sculpture.
9:41:04-9:41:24
The benefit is that people who are always
artistic can continue with their endeavors.
And the second is there a lot of people who
have artistic interests, but never had a
chance to explore them when they were
younger.
SOT: DOLLY BRITTAN
CG: RESIDENT, BURBANK SENIOR
ARTISTS COLONY
7:39:39-7:41:48
Pan of residents (Sue Mavro, Gene
Schklair, Dolly Brittan, Teddi Shattuck)
sitting at large table in art studio.
4:25:27-4:25:39
A lot of the people come in and they just
want to sit in their apartment and be quiet
and have peace. But the majority that have
come in that I’ve met, it it it’s like seeing a
tight little rose bud, you know, and and and
just opening into this beautiful flower,
because the world seems so new to them.
And they start seeing like a child.
VO: NARRATOR
Zoom out full events calendar
A 2006 NATIONAL PROJECT CALLED
THE CREATIVITY AND AGING STUDY
6
9:44:53-9:45:06
SEQUENCE:
Teddi Shattuck shows students (not on
camera) painted canvas
3:55:50-3:56:05
BY GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRIST GENE
COHEN SHOWS THAT CONTINUED
ENGAGEMENT IN PROFESSIONALLY
CONDUCTED ARTS PROGRAMS
POSITIVELY IMPACTS THE MENTAL
AND PHYSICAL HEALTH OF PEOPLE
AGED 65 AND OVER. FOR MANY
SENIORS, THE LONG-TERM
INVOLVEMENT IN CREATIVE
ACTIVITES DURING RETIREMENT IS
A SORT OF ENCORE CAREER.
(http://www.nea.gov/resources/accessibility/CnA-
Rep4-30-06.pdf)
SOT: JON PYNOOS
18:13:54-18:14:16
SEQUENCE:
Dolly Brittan shows pictures of glaciers on
computer
8:07:55-8:08:08
It gives like a new sense of life for people
who otherwise may have had office jobs or
um jobs in factories, or even people who
were lawyers or doctors, whose time was
consumed by the occupations that they had.
Here is a whole new avenue of life opening
up for them.
SOT: DOLLY BRITTAN
7:41:17-7:41:47
CONTINUE SEQUENCE FROM
ABOVE
I mean, I must tell you, my body, when I
wake up in the morning with this 20-year-
old mind all ready to do all these exciting
things my body says, hang on, are you
talking about us? We’re not going to do all
of that, forget it (laughs). We can’t do that,
you can only choose one or two things,
because I get tired, I’ll be 75 in February
and I have to admit that I’m an old lady.
(laughs) Not in mind, but certainly in body.
SOT: DOLLY BRITTAN
7:41:59-7:43:06
A lot of it is the amazement at being able to
fall in love again at this age.
7
Shot of Dolly Brittan holding framed
photo of her and Gene Schklair
8:14:20-8:14:23
VO: NARRATOR
MS Gene Schklair instructs on claymation
3:41:18-3:41:29
BOTH GENE AND DOLLY’S SPOUSES
HAVE PAST AWAY. BUT WHILE GENE
AND DOLLY WERE FRIENDS, THEY
FELL IN LOVE. SINCE LIVING AT THE
ARTISTS COLONY, THEY’VE ALSO
LEARNED A NEW ARTISTIC SKILL—
WRITING POETRY.
SEQUENCE:
Gene Schklair and Dolly Brittan read
poems out loud that they wrote for each
other when they fell in love.
7:50:08-7:51:35
Gene: August 24
th
, twenty ten. Who is this
woman? You are this woman, who entered
my life. You are light and intellectual force,
radiates, you are light. An intellectual force
that radiates and absorbs me. You are poor
kindness. Caring and love. How fortunate I
am to have this wonderful being give
herself to me, totally, passionately. To hold
me and be held by me until we become one.
You occupy my thoughts, awaken sleeping.
Your passion opens me to all my consuming
love- to my all-consuming love. I love you,
my dearest, with my entire being. Gene.
Dolly: And then I wrote, who is this man?
You are the man who captured my mind,
body and soul. Your love, sensitivity, and
creativity overwhelm me. And I stand in
wonder and awe at your inner beauty- your
inner and outer beauty. You fill my heart
and being til the very brim. And I thank the
powers that be placed you so squarely in my
arms. I love you passionately, with all my
heart.
Dolly: Isn’t that weird for two old people?
(laughs)
8
SOT: JON PYNOOS
18:40:19-18:40:31
I think there are stereotypes we all hold
about older people, and that older people
sometimes hold about themselves because
of the way society tends to view aging.
SEQUENCE:
Teddi Shattuck plays the guitar
6:58:41-6:59:07
SOT: TIM CARPENTER
10:05:20-10:05:53
CONTINUE ABOVE SEQUENCE:
Teddi Shattuck on the guitar:
6:59:13-6:10:44
It doesn’t matter whether you are writing
Ulysses or you’re writing a bad limerick. It
fires the same neurons. It has the same
effect on you as an individual. And so, the
fact that we can get more people to
participate in it. And again, I use the phrase,
dust off their dreams, to have people see
themselves as artists, because that’s the first
thing that we have to get over is I think
older adults have been told over and over
again that they’re too old, they’re they’re
past it, they can’t do these things to the
point that they believe it themselves.
(http://www.nea.gov/resources/accessibility/CnA-
Rep4-30-06.pdf)
SOT: JON PYNOOS
18:46:14-14:46:38
CLOSING SEQUENCE:
Teddi Shattuck plays the guitar
Recognizing people for the contributions
that they continue to make I think is very
valuable, and having that um conveyed to
the rest of society, in a way that um it
legitimizes the worth of older people and
the contributions that they can make.
TEXT CARD
NATS:
Sound of Teddi Shattuck playing guitar
Gene Schklair died December 22, 2011, at
the age of 81 about one month after being
diagnosed with gal bladder cancer.
9
Bibliography
Basting, Anne Davis (2006). Arts in dementia care: ‘This is not the end…it’s the end of
the chapter.’ Generations, 30, (1), 16-20. Retrieved from
http://proquest.umi.com.libproxy.usc.edu/pqdweb?index=2&did=1070989121&Sr
chMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=
PQD&TS=1333422985&clientId=5239
Cohen, Gene D. (2006). Research on creativity and aging: The positive impact of the arts
on health and illness. Generations, 30 (1) 7-15. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.usc.edu/docview/212209639
Patterson, Michael C. & Perlstein, Susan (2011). Good for the heart, good for the soul:
The creative arts and brain health in later life. Generations, 35 (2), 27-36.
Retrieved from
http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.usc.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&hi
d=18&sid=6c5e1135-a3bd-4624-b812-6864fb896c45%40sessionmgr11
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
There is a general consensus among those who study aging that integrating sustained creative arts programs into the lives of elderly adults generally improves their quality of life. In 2006, geriatric psychiatrist Dr. Gene Cohen published a study that found that elders’ sustained involvement in professionally conducted arts programs produced positive results. Three sample groups of elders ages 65 and over in centers across the United States (Washington, D.C., Brooklyn and San Francisco) reported in a time period of two years better general health, fewer doctor visits and less need for medication usage. These sample groups were tested against a control group. ❧ Research on the effects that artistic programs have on people with dementia produces similar qualitative results. In a 2006 article by Anne Basting, director of the Center on Age & Community at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Basting talks about her research along with her experiences leading artistic projects for elderly adults and the kinds of results she witnessed. Basting states that because the arts allow for connections on an emotional level, people with dementia are still able to express themselves: “Where rational language and factual memory have failed people with dementia, the arts offer an avenue for communication and connection with caregivers, loved ones, and the greater world” (p. 17). Basting says that even though most researchers who study aging would agree that there is much anecdotal evidence that arts programs benefit people with dementia, she says the quantitative data that is available is small in scale, often done in single facilities that lack a control group. ❧ Other research broadens its scope to include elderly people who do not necessarily have a form of degenerative illness, such as Dr. Gene Cohen’s research (2006). Researchers and gerontologists Michael Patterson and Susan Perlstein (2011) explain that evidence exists that the combination of physical and mental activities for seniors produces positive health benefits: “physical exercise and mental exercise promote neurogenesis. It is now known that the human brain can continue to grow new neurons in the hippocampus, the brain’s memory maker, and that the physical exercise stimulates growth of new brain cells” (p. 31). Senior citizen centers that have the space capabilities to host artistic programs and physical activities for residents have the potential to in some way improve the lives of the elderly adults who live there, but it is often the case that a lack of financial resources limits this potential. ❧ This documentary profiles three senior citizens who live at the Burbank Senior Artists Colony, a non-assisted living apartment complex where people age 55 and older can participate in professionally conducted artistic programs (free of charge with their rent). The Burbank Senior Artists Colony offers its residents classes in painting, watercolor, sculpting, singing, theater, video making, and exercise, among other classes
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Estupinan, Raquel
(author)
Core Title
Artistic seniors: healthy aging through creative programs
School
Annenberg School for Communication
Degree
Master of Arts
Degree Program
Journalism (Broadcast Journalism)
Publication Date
05/02/2012
Defense Date
04/02/2012
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
aging,art,artistic,creativity,Gerontology,OAI-PMH Harvest
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Birman, Daniel H. (
committee chair
), Anawalt, Sasha (
committee member
), Pynoos, Jon (
committee member
)
Creator Email
raquel.estupinan@gmail.com
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-23158
Unique identifier
UC11288307
Identifier
usctheses-c3-23158 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-EstupinanR-722.pdf
Dmrecord
23158
Document Type
Project
Rights
Estupinan, Raquel
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Tags
artistic
creativity