The Committee

#100.43, Photographed by Mary Elizabeth Kulesa, 2023: Recto with frame

Name/Title

The Committee

Entry/Object ID

100.43

Acquisition

Notes

Donated by descendants of Dr. Joseph DiPalma

Made/Created

Artist

Joseph DiPalma, M.D.

Date made

circa 1970

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Exhibition Label

Label

A fondness for allegory inspired this work by Dr. Joseph DiPalma, Dean of Hahnemann from 1968 to 1982. Whether the nine faces are intended to represent a real person or not, it is clear that the Dean had opinions about committee participants generally. One face is represented as vampiric and others are cartoonish, complete with shifty eyes and exaggerated features. The long board serving as a table is supported by a smiling man, a random leg and an unseen rope attachment hooked to the board. These features are not as obvious in their meaning, except perhaps in descirbing different levels of stability. Dr. DiPalma enjoyed creating art that illustrated his career experiences. The Committee is on of three such paintings donated to the College of Medicine by his descendants.