A. Laura Brody
Le Flaneur
Victorian inspired walker with attached GPS unit, cow horns, parasol and gramophone. 2010 (redesigned 2013)
96" x 36" x 36"
$8200
Website: http://www.dreamsbymachine.com/
California, USA
Photo by Heidi Marie Photography
VO by Mari Weiss
Victorian inspired walker with attached GPS unit, cow horns, parasol and gramophone. 2010 (redesigned 2013)
96" x 36" x 36"
$8200
Website: http://www.dreamsbymachine.com/
California, USA
Photo by Heidi Marie Photography
VO by Mari Weiss
The Firebird
Re-used textiles, beads, and stuffing. 2014
45” x 32” x 45”
$2000
Model: Drew Nachreiner
Photo by Stephanie Shanks
VO by Mari Weiss
Re-used textiles, beads, and stuffing. 2014
45” x 32” x 45”
$2000
Model: Drew Nachreiner
Photo by Stephanie Shanks
VO by Mari Weiss
ABOUT THE ARTWORKS:
"Le Flaneur is a Victorian inspired walker with attached parasol, cow horns, compass and a GPS unit. A flaneur was a 19th century French literary person who enjoyed taking leisurely walks through the city. For a flaneur, the style of traveling was more important than the destination.
The Firebird is a wheelchair seat cushion inspired by Marc Chagall’s designs for the ballet The Firebird. The Firebird is based on Russian folklore, but also on tales of the Phoenix, that legendary bird that is reborn from its own ashes."
The Firebird is a wheelchair seat cushion inspired by Marc Chagall’s designs for the ballet The Firebird. The Firebird is based on Russian folklore, but also on tales of the Phoenix, that legendary bird that is reborn from its own ashes."
BIO:
A. Laura Brody sculpts for the human body and its vehicles. Her sculptures are conceived with a commitment to social justice and are inspired by art history and the spirit of scientific discovery. Her professional costuming career and passion for reuse gave her the skills needed to turn wheelchairs, walkers, and mobility scooters into sculptural works of art. She believes that disability is a natural human condition. Instead of “fixing”, hiding, or denying it, how do we make it thrive?
Her belief that disability should not mean a loss of beauty has lead to “Opulent Mobility”, group exhibits comprised of art, designs, and creations dealing with and reflecting on disability and mobility. The 2015 and 2017 exhibits were co-curated by the disability activist and historian Anthony Tusler. In April 2017 Brody gave a talk about the exhibits for the DisArts Symposium and took part in a panel discussion on the Spectacle of Accessibility at UCLA’s Disability as Spectacle conference.
Her belief that disability should not mean a loss of beauty has lead to “Opulent Mobility”, group exhibits comprised of art, designs, and creations dealing with and reflecting on disability and mobility. The 2015 and 2017 exhibits were co-curated by the disability activist and historian Anthony Tusler. In April 2017 Brody gave a talk about the exhibits for the DisArts Symposium and took part in a panel discussion on the Spectacle of Accessibility at UCLA’s Disability as Spectacle conference.
DESCRIPTIONS:
Le Flaneur:
A walker with added push handles has the upper portion of the frame wrapped in dark red fabric and shimmering narrow gold ribbon. A bell-shaped gramophone horn with dark red interior and peach exterior is fitted into an ornate silver bracket attached to the left armrest. Rising from the right rear strut is a parasol on a 4 foot shaft. The shaft is wrapped with alternating dark red fabric and black leather. Gold ribbon crisscrosses both. The umbrella canopy has alternating triangular panels of navy blue brocade and red velvet. The seams that join them are covered in thin gold braid. The scalloped canopy edge is trimmed with thick maroon fringe. On the seat is a rectangular, silver serving frame. On it is a silver tray, silver serving bowl, and a GPS unit. In the bowl is a single silver candle stick. A smaller plain bowl sits on the front edge of the scalloped bowl. In the smaller bowl is a compass in a gold trimmed leather case. The navy blue brocade is draped in swags in front, under the seat. The fabric is trimmed with the same thick maroon fringe. Hanging from the sides are two navy blue panels that end in gold tassels.
The Firebird:
On a walkway with a brick building and greenery in the background, a blonde haired white boy is seated in a power wheelchair. He is in profile and faces right. He wears a navy blue shirt and beige sandals. Adorning his chair are slender red and orange stuffed fabric feathers that fan out from the seat and sides. The feathers have bells on their tips. From the back, hang peach feathers and burgundy colored pleated silk feathers.
-descriptions by Teri Grossman
A walker with added push handles has the upper portion of the frame wrapped in dark red fabric and shimmering narrow gold ribbon. A bell-shaped gramophone horn with dark red interior and peach exterior is fitted into an ornate silver bracket attached to the left armrest. Rising from the right rear strut is a parasol on a 4 foot shaft. The shaft is wrapped with alternating dark red fabric and black leather. Gold ribbon crisscrosses both. The umbrella canopy has alternating triangular panels of navy blue brocade and red velvet. The seams that join them are covered in thin gold braid. The scalloped canopy edge is trimmed with thick maroon fringe. On the seat is a rectangular, silver serving frame. On it is a silver tray, silver serving bowl, and a GPS unit. In the bowl is a single silver candle stick. A smaller plain bowl sits on the front edge of the scalloped bowl. In the smaller bowl is a compass in a gold trimmed leather case. The navy blue brocade is draped in swags in front, under the seat. The fabric is trimmed with the same thick maroon fringe. Hanging from the sides are two navy blue panels that end in gold tassels.
The Firebird:
On a walkway with a brick building and greenery in the background, a blonde haired white boy is seated in a power wheelchair. He is in profile and faces right. He wears a navy blue shirt and beige sandals. Adorning his chair are slender red and orange stuffed fabric feathers that fan out from the seat and sides. The feathers have bells on their tips. From the back, hang peach feathers and burgundy colored pleated silk feathers.
-descriptions by Teri Grossman
Opulent Mobility by A. Laura Brody is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://www.dreamsbymachine.com/opulent-mobility/.
The Opulent Mobility license refers to the exhibit and its audio descriptions. Individual artworks are the property of the individual artists.