Anne-Marie Riedinger

Throughout her career, Anne-Marie Riedinger has passed on her skills through teaching and also through presenting conference papers and publishing her works.

 My journey as an anaplastologist:

I was born in Strasbourg, Alsace. After obtaining my baccalauréat in the sciences, I pursued my studies in higher education at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg (now the Haute Ecole des Arts du Rhin).

In my third year I opted to join the communication department in the field of medical illustration under the direction of Pierre Kuentz, taking core classes in illustration with Claude Lapointe. After validating courses in anatomy shared with students in the Medical School, I was allowed to be present in the operating block in my 4th and 5th years to sketch surgical operations. The sketches were then used as the basis for surgical technical drawings (composition and clarification of the message through images, precise scientific content and validation of the drawings by the surgeon). This training refined my sense of communication, sharpened my critical analysis, and gave me greater insight into composition, drawing techniques, colour and the fundamentals of sculpture. 

At the “Arts Déco”, I was also fascinated by the work of other illustrators and friends studying at the same time as me. I admired the poetic universe of Eve Tharlet, who captivated her audience, and lingered at the table of John Howe who was already illustrating Lord of the Rings and telling exciting stories about his life in the wilds of British Colombia.

I did my research thesis at the French research institute INSERM under Dr Kathy Haffen on the intestinal villus which culminated in drawings and a short animated film and resulted in my graduation with honours and being awarded the Prize of the City of Strasbourg.

I wanted to pursue my training and discover what was being done in the field of medical illustration on an international scale. I obtained a study grant from the Franco-American Foundation enabling me to study in Chicago in the prestigious Bio Communication Arts Department which trained future medical artists. The students were highly motivated and I still have contacts with friends from this period, such as Julie Jordan Brown and Heidi Hoffer Berthiaume.

I very rapidly became hooked by the anaplastology courses and discovered the amazing world of facial prostheses. I studied this art under the supervision of Susan Habakuk. I continued to follow surgical operations with a view to illustrating the techniques used, as well as classes on photography, dissection, psychology and the graphic arts under Al Teoli, whom I greatly admired, and many practical classes. A number of external lecturers also came in to give us presentations on various themes.

When I returned to Europe, I did a 6-month internship with Gillian Duncan, who had just set up her laboratory in Germany in Homburg/Saar. This internationally renowned American medical artist was developing silicone facial prostheses in Germany. As in France, they had previously been made of resin. Gillian had a sharp eye and was naturally gifted in restoring patients their looks. She inspired me with her passion for the art and I still apply her techniques today.

On my return to France, I soon encountered my European colleagues who were to become close friends, in particular Dr Kerstin Bergström who collaborated with the eminent Prof P-I Branemark and Prof Anders Tjellström. Together, they have treated patients in a number of countries around the world and Kerstin has trained many anaplastologists. This encounter led to a collaboration set up in 1986 with Dr Hamann in Paris to build the very first bone-anchored auricular prostheses (anchored to implants) in France for the Necker Hospital for Sick Children.

During the same period, we organised our first meeting of European medical artists in Strasbourg in 1984 and founded the Association Européenne des Illustrateurs Médicaux et Scientifiques (AEIMS – European Association of Medical and Scientific Artists) which has grown in scope since then and of which I am still a member.  It was here that I met Giliola Gamberini who directed the school of medical illustration in Bologna, Italy.

I have regularly taken part in conferences organised by IASPE and IMPT, and often present papers. But above all, I participated in virtually all the conferences of the American Anaplastology Association (AAA), where I gave and conducted workshops and advanced training. The AAA has been transformed into the International Anaplastology Association (IAA), and I had the great honour of being elected President – to wit the first European President of the IAA (2009-2011).

I am currently the President of the Syndicat des Épithésistes Français and I was a member of the Board for Certification in Clinical Anaplastology (BCCA) from 2016 to 2020.

Since lockdown, we have organised meetings via Zoom with our European colleagues and friends (Kerstin Bergström in Sweden, Jan De Cubber in Belgium, Yvonne Motzkus in Germany, Peter Evans in the UK), and our North and South American and Japanese colleagues. We have thus been able to follow how Covid has evolved and the restrictions applied in various countries, and offer our mutual help when necessary.