AAMC Reporter: September 2007

Molded to Perfection

Ivar Mendez, M.D., puts the finishing touches on a clay model of his mentor, Charles Drake.

Delving into something and fixing it is a basic tenet of surgery. Ivar Mendez, M.D., director of neurosurgery at Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine in Halifax, Nova Scotia, takes it one step further: he is not only a fixer, but a creator. And when not excising brain tumors or undertaking the intense everyday repair work of a neurosurgeon, you may find him mulling over a mound of shapeless clay.

Mendez has a passion for sculpture that began with a drawing class in his teenaged years. Mendez, whose bronze and aluminum works have been exhibited in galleries throughout North America, says he enjoys the sense of accomplishment that comes from seeing a finished figure emerge from piles of muddy clay.

"I first imagine what I am going to be doing, and start off with something that has no clear shape," he says. "I usually begin with clay to make the first model. And that transition from a lump of clay to a human hand or the human figure, that is something deeply satisfying to me."

For inspiration, Mendez said he looks to his environment. A Bolivia native, he has sculpted representations of his countrymen, loaded by weights meant to suggest the poverty of his homeland. His portfolio also includes icebergs, a fixture on the Canadian landscape where he currently resides. Mendez says that his work as a physician and a sculptor feed off one another.

"Art and science are not only complementary activities but truly synergistic. Artists are creative individuals. They think outside the box. Scientists have to also be creative and think outside norms to bring about innovation."

—By Elissa Fuchs

Contact Us    © 1995-2008 AAMC    Terms and Conditions    Privacy Statement