Experiences can be art.
In the exhibit eMotion Pictures: An Exhibition of Orthopaedics in Art, art is defined as broken bones, fractures and X-rays -- taking art to a whole new level.
Created and produced by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the art exhibit is on display until Feb. 21 at the Robeson Gallery in the HUB-Robeson Center. At 4 p.m. today in 129 HUB, Dr. David Teplica will give an artist's talk. A reception will follow his talk until 6 p.m. in the Robeson Gallery.
"The exhibit is fascinating," said Teplica, a Chicago-based plastic and reconstructive surgeon. Teplica, a Penn State alumnus, is also an artist who has one piece included in the exhibit.
The display features artwork by people who have been involved with orthopedics. The artists are adults and children, as well as orthopedic surgeons, all touched by orthopedic conditions or situations.
Teplica's sprain injuries and a broken bone from pole-vaulting at Bellefonte High School gave him his first experience as an orthopedic patient. "My first exposure to the world of medicine was fascinating," he said.
With both a degree in medicine and a graduate degree in fine arts, Teplica was asked to represent his work from an artist's perspective.
His X-ray image in the gallery describes his fascination with the postures of hands and feet.
His other works, which recreate creation from a scientific point of view, are "wacky, comical, lovely, serious and scientific," all at the same time, Teplica said.
Ermyn F. King, coordinator of the Arts and Health Outreach Initiative, who brought the gallery to Penn State, said this exhibition, which is held in high regard worldwide, gets to the very heart of why people create art.
"There isn't one of us that hasn't been touched by an orthopedic situation in some way or another, and if you come and take a look, it makes you feel strongly how the bones are the foundation of life," King said.
This exhibit is touring nationally and had recent showings at the United Nations and the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
The exhibit also features works from New York-based artist Laura Ferguson, creator of the "Visible Skeleton" series.
