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Rasso Rothacker: The Samaritan
Rasso Rothacker: The Samaritan
Bronze statue, approx. 1965
A cast of the original is in the German Epilepsy Museum, Kork.
"Most people with epilepsy are able to live completely independent lives in spite of their illness and can organize their working and social life without the help of others; apart from the occasional epileptic seizures which they have, they are quite normal.
Some epileptic people, especially children or people who have other disorders in addition to their epilepsy (e.g. they are handicapped) need the help of other people.
The statue shows a child with epilepsy whose hand is being held by a helper (the mother or father?) and who is being supported as it makes its first attempts at walking. The difference in size between the two people in the statue signalises on the one hand the sick child's need for help and protection, and on the other hand the active help and the safety which the helper provides."
I like the meaning behind this statue, it reflects the help and protection that children (or other patients with epilepsy) need. The symbol of the larger statue holding the hand of the affected statue and the difference in size shows the capability of the helper to ensure safety, protection and help.
Hello, thank you for deciding to post this statue and providing the explanation. Without reading your notes, I could see that a bigger figure was helping the smaller figure who appeared to someone on his/her knee or bending over needing assistance. I also agree with your comment that most people with epilepsy live completely independently and go on to live a happy life, however, this is not the case for a lot of individuals. - Trusha Patel
Thank you Trusha for your comment. I like your interpretation of this artwork. You could tell from the statue that the smaller figure needs assistance, which is the case in most of patients with epilepsy.
Noha
I think it's amazing that there's a museum dedicated to epilepsy, and that this interesting sculpture is part of the collection. One of the things we learned in class is that we should create a safe environment around patients who are having a seizure, and this Samaritan piece is a simplistic representation of that.
Lisa Chang
Thank you Lisa for your comment. You are right, I was fascinated with the idea of the museum and the artworks included as well. I also like the criteria of 'safety' you've interpreted from this artwork.
Noha
This was posted by several of you, and I do think it is a striking statue. There are 2 things that I hope you leave this course with at the forefront, and a few others too, but I hope that in the future everyone will refer to individuals with disease as individuals and not the disease, ie epileptics, diabetics, asthmatics, etc. Also, remember when taking care of the patients it is not about the drug level but about how the patient is responding to a drug. Ruth Nemire
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