For Immediate Release
For more information, contact:Todd Schuetz(847) 384-4032 [email protected]
Teena Austin(847) 384-4031 [email protected]
Powerful art exhibit tells stories of individual pain, recovery,emotional strength, and human endurance
ROSEMONT, Ill.--Every picture tells a story, and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons brings personal, moving experiences to life in this unique exhibition, eMotion Pictures: An Exhibition of Orthopaedics in Art, showcasing the artwork of orthopaedic surgeons, adult artists and children, all of whom have had an orthopaedic condition somehow touch their lives.
eMotion Pictures: An Exhibition of Orthopaedics in Art, featuring 132 artists from 10 countries and 31 states opened this February in San Francisco for the beginning of a multi-city tour.
One hundred selected pieces from the exhibit will be in Washington, DC April 23 through May 26, 2001 at the Millennium Arts Center. Admission is free. The exhibit will raise awareness of the magnitude of musculoskeletal conditions and celebrate the Bone and Joint Decade (2000-2010).
A jury of art professionals including David Ross, director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; John Killacky, executive director of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; and Joseph McCullough, president emeritus of the Cleveland Institute of Art reviewed the work.
Artists reflect in their work personal emotion, be it hope, freedom, strength, pain, anger, frustration, wellness or independence. Orthopaedic surgeons' artwork illustrates the patient/physician partnership, compassion, the art of healing, and how they feel about making a difference in people's lives.
A personal narrative is displayed with each piece, describing the artist's relationship to the work. Media used include painting, drawing, prints, photography, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, crafts, functional art and mixed media.
The world-renowned Israeli artist and pioneer of the kinetic art movement, Yaacov Agam will be featured in eMotion Pictures. He is a legend in his field of constantly moving and visually changing works of graphic art. His art reflects the importance of movement, which is especially relevant since Agam is a hip replacement patient.
Several local artists are featured in eMotion Pictures, including Dan Keplinger, writer and subject of the Oscar-winning film short, "King Gimp." Keplinger, an artist born with cerebral palsy, paints using a brush attached to special headgear.
"The headstick is my only hand, although it has no fingers and it's slow, it gets the paint on canvas. The minute my headstick goes on, I don't hear other people in the room, everything is filtered out creating a state of purity possible only through art," explains Daniel Keplinger.
Barbara Hardaway, collage artist and English professor at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, with a Ph.D. From Howard University, will also have her work exhibited. Dr. Hardway contracted polio and began wearing leg braces to enable her to walk, skip and dance, but she always felt different as a child.
She uses those very braces in her work as a form of celebration, reflection, and awareness for herself and viewer. "In the art world, my gifts are valued and appreciated," she says. " I hope my work encourages others to rediscover and challenge the 'braces' in their own lives."
Joining them are Yosuf Zulal, child artist who was born with cerebral palsy. Now 11 years old, the Virginia native was influenced by his mother to use art to express his feelings of happiness and sadness. "My art class helps me to relax and to be proud of things I can do," he says. "Being handicapped helps me to see the smallest things in life that many people can't see."
Karyl Sisson is an award-winning Los Angeles fiber and craft artist whose work is in the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
She has exhibited throughout the world. Sisson uses objects that make up the fabric of women's lives to create her art. Her work in eMotion Pictures expresses her feelings about osteopenia, a condition characterized by reduced bone mass.
Musculoskeletal conditions have an enormous impact on society, according to the Academy. More than half of all injuries reported in the United States are to the musculoskeletal system. Worldwide, orthopaedic conditions are the most common cause of physical disability and severe long-term pain. Today, one out of every seven people in the U.S. has a musculoskeletal condition. Such conditions include arthritis, osteoporosis, amputation, scoliosis, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, foot pain, and back pain.
The Academy will hold eMotion Pictures: An Exhibition of Orthopaedics in Art in Washington, DC at the Millennium Arts Center, 65 I (Eye) Street, SW, opening April 23 through May 26, 2001. The exhibition in Washington, DC is made possible by an educational grant from Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, makers of Synvisc(tm).
Visit eMotion Pictures at http://emotionpictures.aaos.org and see how pain, creativity and life's experiences are transformed into powerful pieces of art.
The 25,500-member American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (www.aaos.org) or (http://orthoinfo.aaos.org), is a not-for-profit organization that provides education programs for orthopaedic surgeons, allied health professionals and the public.
An advocate for improved patient care, the Academy is participating in the Bone and Joint Decade (www.bonejointdecade.org), the global initiative in the years 2000-2010 to raise awareness of musculoskeletal health, stimulate research and improve people's quality of life.
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