SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - March 5, 2008) - Intense feelings echo through a unique
international exhibition of art created by orthopaedic surgeons and
patients. "eMotion Pictures: An Exhibition of Orthopaedics in Art,"
sponsored and organized by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
(AAOS), debuts March 5-9, 2008 at the Moscone Center - West Building, and
is free and open to the public. The exhibit showcases over 203 works of art
by 153 artists from nine countries and 33 states, including 10 artists from
San Francisco and surrounding areas.
"eMotion Pictures" celebrates both the transformational power of art and
modern medicine's success in addressing a wide range of orthopaedic
conditions, including scoliosis, degenerative discs, brittle bones, torn
ligaments, traumatic skeletal injuries, congenital bone deformities and
deteriorated joints.
A brief artist's statement links each work on display to the field of
orthopaedics. Patients explain the disruptive impact of a chronic or
transitory orthopaedic condition and how making art empowers them. Surgeons
write that their admiration for the intricate beauty of the skeletal system
and their respect for the courage of their patients have inspired them to
produce art.
The juried show includes paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and
textiles, as well as wood, metal, stone, beaded and glass sculptures. San
Francisco-based artist Rebekah May was bedridden for a year and a half due
to a severe back injury in 2005. Undeterred by her confinement, May found
solace in her artistic expressions and created one of her two pieces to be
featured in eMotion Pictures: "Chronicles of the Girl in the Purple Dress,"
a selection of drawings reflecting her loss, grief, coping, hope, strength,
determination and spirituality.
Other San Francisco-area exhibitors include Bill Bruckner, an artist whose
work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the United States. Bruckner
was born with short arms at birth and was fitted with prostheses as a
child. His intention is to create artwork that conveys disabled people's
ordinary dignity, humanity and self-respect. His painting, "Celeste 2," is
a dramatic portrait of a young woman seated in a wheelchair staring at the
viewer.
Inspired by the work of Spain's Antoni Gaudi, Woodside, Calif., resident
Xuan My Ho created a colorful mosaic that grew out of recurring dreams of
being able to walk on the beach, dreams which she had during her two months
spent in recovery after surgery to alleviate her of pain caused by hammer
toes on both of her feet. At night, she repeatedly dreamed of walking
barefoot on the beach, healed by the soothing, smooth, wet sand and clear,
blue water. "Three months after the surgery, I began translating my dreams
into a mosaic art piece that would come to represent the vital role which
feet play in our lives," said Ho.
A basswood carving by Dr. Leonard Gerstein, titled "Orthopaedic Surgeon
Reducing a Colles Fracture," represents the surgeon's hands at the precise
moment of skillfully correcting the deformity of the most common wrist
fracture. Dr. Gerstein is an orthopaedic surgeon based in Scotts Valley,
Calif.
The presence of artists from around the world demonstrates that "eMotion
Pictures" touches upon universal human themes. When Elon, N.C., artist
Deborah Williams' art teaching career was cut short by a combination of
chronic orthopaedic conditions, she became a full-time painter. Her study
of five elderly women comfortably posing with walkers, crutches, canes or
braces is Williams' salute to the mobility made possible by orthopaedic
advances today.
Thailand's Dr. Dumronk Thanachanant, an orthopaedic surgeon and consultant
to private hospitals in Bangkok and Pattaya, suggests that all orthopaedic
surgeons study art as well as science. He is exhibiting a flowing, abstract
watercolor study of a broken bone, illustrating his belief that human
anatomy has great aesthetic appeal.
Oshkosh, Wis., is home to award-winning painter and sculptor Jon Wos, whose
mobility is limited by a genetic condition -- osteogenesis imperfecta, a
condition in which one's bones are brittle and imperfectly formed. His work
has been exhibited in numerous venues, including the John F. Kennedy Center
for the Performing Arts. In addition to an oil self-portrait in a hospital
bed following one of his many surgeries, Wos is represented in "eMotion
Pictures" by two dramatic glass-and-ceramic sculptures. One is a skeleton
chronicling his long history of fractures and surgeries. The other, a
skeletal hand grasping a broken bone, salutes the resilience of his body.
Jurors for "eMotion Pictures" 2008 were René deGuzman, director of visual
arts of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; John R. Killacky, Program
Officer for Arts and Culture with The San Francisco Foundation and Paul
Pratchenko, Professor of Art at San Francisco State University.
Exhibition hours are:
-- Wed. through Sat., March 5 through 8 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
-- Sun., March 9 from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The "eMotion Pictures" exhibit will travel to the Chicago Cultural Center
and open for public viewing April 17-July 20, 2008. A special pictorial
exhibit exploring the history and growth of the field will be on display to
mark the AAOS' 75th anniversary of the founding of the science of
orthopaedics in conjunction with the opening of "eMotion Pictures." For
information on the San Francisco or Chicago exhibits, visit
www.aaos.org/75years. For the Chicago exhibit, contact Rosner Public
Relations to arrange an interview at (312) 664-6100, (312) 404-5646 or
rosnerpr@earthlink.net.
With more than 30,000 members, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
(
www.aaos.org) or (
www.orthoinfo.org) is the premier not-for-profit
organization that provides education programs for orthopaedic surgeons and
allied health professionals, champions the interests of patients and
advances the highest quality musculoskeletal health. Orthopaedic surgeons
and the Academy are the authoritative sources of information for patients
and the general public on musculoskeletal conditions, treatments and
related issues. An advocate for improved patient care, the Academy is
participating in the Bone and Joint Decade (
www.usbjd.org) -- the global
initiative in the years 2002-2011 -- to raise awareness of musculoskeletal
health, stimulate research and improve people's quality of life.
To view this release online, go to:
http://www.pwrnewmedia.com/2008/aaos030508_eMotion/index.html
Contact Information: CONTACTS:
Andrea Fuller
415-621-6447
Michael Volpatt
415-692-0100; 415-994-8864
Robin Waxenberg
212-489-8006