Prosthetics exhibit featured at Portland art school
If you’ve never thought of prosthetics as art, maybe it’s time you should.
Next month, the Center for Contemporary Art & Culture at Pacific Northwest College of Art will unveil an exhibit on prosthetics, developed by Design Museum Portland.
The exhibit looks at the past, present and future of prosthetic design and will feature more than 35 case studies. The cases span from do-it-yourself inventions by kids to mind-controlled bionic limbs.
“At the Design Museum we’re focused on how design impacts people’s lives, and this awe-inspiring work is making a difference for so many — but so few people know about it,” said Sam Aquillano, executive director of Design Museum Foundation, in a news release. “We know people will find these incredible human stories and engineering marvels inspirational on many levels.”
The exhibit, “Bespoke Bodies: The Design & Craft of Prosthetics,” will be open Feb. 15 to May 9 at the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer center for Art and Design, 511 N.W. Broadway in Portland. The exhibit is free.
The exhibit will tell the stories of patients, clinicians, designers and artists. Visitors will see the evolution or and design process behind a range of prosthetic devices.
The Design Museum Foundation is hosting several public events as part of the program, including an opening reception, exhibit tours and a Paralympics Opening Ceremonies viewing party.
Marissa Harshman
I'm the health reporter for The Columbian newspaper in Vancouver, Wash. I started at The Columbian -- my hometown newspaper -- in September 2009. Reach me at marissa.harshman@columbian.com or 360-735-4546.