Patricia Fortlage
On The Menu
2023
Framed print
16” x 20”
$300
2023
Framed print
16” x 20”
$300
ARTIST INTERVIEW with ASL interpretation:
ABOUT THE ART:
From the Fine Art Photographic Series, Lemonade. Part of an overall love letter to the chronic illness community.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
“This is a project I have wanted to do for a very long time. I would like it to serve as a love letter to the chronic illness community… especially the women who are most gaslighted by medical professionals and others in our communities at large. This is a photographic fine art series with careful attention to raising women up in the process. You see, I, myself, have a life-threatening illness. It is called Myasthenia Gravis and it has thrown me into the deep end of what life is like for women with disabilities/chronic disease.
Our culture has very strong ideas on how I should look, how I should behave, what I should do about my health… if I should exist at all. For the most part, I have been discarded. No longer do any of my accomplishments matter. It is as though I never existed and that any and all education and knowledge and lived experience has disappeared. My agency has been taken from me, worse if I do not “look” the part… well enough to make those around me comfortable, but not too well as to look like I am taking advantage of some perceived systemic benefit. People often expect me to look downtrodden and one step from homelessness. Sometimes I do (and many with chronic illnesses are), but usually I do not (as many of us are not). Chronic disease can happen to anyone at any time. “
Our culture has very strong ideas on how I should look, how I should behave, what I should do about my health… if I should exist at all. For the most part, I have been discarded. No longer do any of my accomplishments matter. It is as though I never existed and that any and all education and knowledge and lived experience has disappeared. My agency has been taken from me, worse if I do not “look” the part… well enough to make those around me comfortable, but not too well as to look like I am taking advantage of some perceived systemic benefit. People often expect me to look downtrodden and one step from homelessness. Sometimes I do (and many with chronic illnesses are), but usually I do not (as many of us are not). Chronic disease can happen to anyone at any time. “
DESCRIPTIONS:
Elixirs
In this still life photograph a bronze edged, matte black serving tray sits on a dark table. On the tray are three cocktails. On the left is a stemless wine glass with a pale pink beverage over ice cubes, garnished with a lemon wedge and sprig of green herbs. Further right is a highball glass with a pale blue beverage over ice cubes garnished with a sprig of mint. Blue colored berries rest on the bottom of the glass. Next, in a wide champagne glass, is a pale orange beverage with two green olives on a silver skewer. Slightly out of focus on the far-right side of the tray is a cranberry red napkin in a gold napkin ring. In the background on the left are fuzzy tall, flowering plants. On the right are three containers with dense print on their labels next to two syringes.
On the Menu
In this still life photo light from the right falls on the scene against a black background. On the left is a dark green vase of flowers: large dusty pink roses, lavender freesias, and purple straw flowers. Several of the straw flowers droop against the vase. At the base of the vase are three more roses. To the right of the vase is a gray-green oval shaped pitcher. To the right of the pitcher is a shiny silver tray of fruit: a cut green kiwi, several whole, reddish-purple plums, clusters of green grapes, one banana and a few scattered dark purple berries. On the far right is a cranberry-colored sharps container with a large round white cap. In the foreground in front of the vase is a wooden tray with capsules, white tape, 4x4’s, alcohol wipes, syringes, IV tubing and two glass vials. Further right on a white towel is a pair of scissors, two wooden handled tools and two forks. At the far right is a white cylinder with a blue cap; a gray fabric sleeve drapes over the cylinder.
-art descriptions by Teri Grossman
In this still life photograph a bronze edged, matte black serving tray sits on a dark table. On the tray are three cocktails. On the left is a stemless wine glass with a pale pink beverage over ice cubes, garnished with a lemon wedge and sprig of green herbs. Further right is a highball glass with a pale blue beverage over ice cubes garnished with a sprig of mint. Blue colored berries rest on the bottom of the glass. Next, in a wide champagne glass, is a pale orange beverage with two green olives on a silver skewer. Slightly out of focus on the far-right side of the tray is a cranberry red napkin in a gold napkin ring. In the background on the left are fuzzy tall, flowering plants. On the right are three containers with dense print on their labels next to two syringes.
On the Menu
In this still life photo light from the right falls on the scene against a black background. On the left is a dark green vase of flowers: large dusty pink roses, lavender freesias, and purple straw flowers. Several of the straw flowers droop against the vase. At the base of the vase are three more roses. To the right of the vase is a gray-green oval shaped pitcher. To the right of the pitcher is a shiny silver tray of fruit: a cut green kiwi, several whole, reddish-purple plums, clusters of green grapes, one banana and a few scattered dark purple berries. On the far right is a cranberry-colored sharps container with a large round white cap. In the foreground in front of the vase is a wooden tray with capsules, white tape, 4x4’s, alcohol wipes, syringes, IV tubing and two glass vials. Further right on a white towel is a pair of scissors, two wooden handled tools and two forks. At the far right is a white cylinder with a blue cap; a gray fabric sleeve drapes over the cylinder.
-art descriptions by Teri Grossman
Presented by USC Visions and Voices. Organized by Pamela Schaff (Medical Education, Family Medicine, and Pediatrics), Julie Van Dam (French and Italian), Erika Wright (Medical Education and English), Sabrina Derrington (Pediatrics), and Ron Ben-Ari (Internal Medicine and Medical Education). Co-sponsored by the Keck School of Medicine’s HEAL (Humanities, Ethics, Art, and Law) Program and the Center for Bioethics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
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Opulent Mobility by A. Laura Brody is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
The Opulent Mobility license refers to the exhibit and its audio descriptions. Individual artworks are the property of the individual artists.