About “The Art of Epilepsy”

This site will feature representations of epilepsy in art and culture.    It will not avoid misrepresentations and distortions of the epileptic experience, but instead will highlight them and invite reader comment.    I appreciate receiving your feedback on the site, its subject and approach to it, and anything else you’d like to tell me.

My own involvement and interest in this subject comes from my teenage son, who has had petite mal seizures since the age of 5, and whom I have watched as he “owns” his condition and describes it comfortably to others.  His situation has led me to seek out cultural representations of epilepsy, and to observe with interest the mix of science, fact, superstition, fear and compassion that are mixed into these artistic efforts.

In the best case, this site will be a resource for anyone interested in how people make meaning of epilepsy, and thus how they come to live with it and alongside it.

I will begin by placing ads on this site, to defray costs. If there are significant revenues (unlikely), I will devote a portion of those revenues to an appropriate charitable cause related to epilepsy research, and will publicly describe the charitable giving policy. However, another reason that I will be placing ads on this site is that I’m genuinely interested in the intersection of commerce and culture. Who is selling to people who are interested in epilepsy, and what are they selling? The ads are part of the picture of epilepsy in the commercial culture of the world.