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PART OF GLOBAL ARTS FESTIVAL
Photos Showcase Pain, Love At Children's Hospital
by Shereen Oca
Staff Writer
In one photograph, entitled "24/7," the Ruiz family lovingly huddles around Adriana, a 10-year-old who has a childhood neurodevelopmental disorder called Rett syndrome.
Adriana experiences daily seizures and requires constant care from her siblings.
In another image, entitled "Transformation," Ross Davis, 31, protectively cradles his 2-1/2 month-old son, Rory.
Rory was born with bilateral cleft palate. His father was born with the same birth defect. His mother, and Davis's fiance, Jenna cox, said she and Davis already anticipate the pain and teasing their son will undergo because of what Davis endured during his own childhood.
"It's heart wrenching," said Cox, 25. "You want to be there to protect him every second."
The are just two of the many portraits captured by area photographer and Long Beach resident Linnea Lenkus. Lenkus worked iwth 16 families to compose "Healing," a fine art photography exhibit that features children with special needs. It will be on display at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center tomorrow evening (Friday) and later this month as part of the Greater Long Beach Arts Lab (GLOBAL), a citywide festival established by the Arts Council for Long Beach.
Lenkus said she teamed up with Steel Magnolias, a fundraising organization for the Stramski Children's Developmental Center at Miller Children's Hospital, to create a project that would allow her to give back to the community as well as raise awareness about the center, its work and its families.
"This puts a face on the people they help," Lenkus said. "But it also depicts the struggles and triumphs families feel together. When a family member is disabled, they are not disabled by themselves, the whole family is affected. I wanted to depict that."
An array of physical, mental and behavioral conditions, including cerebral palsy, autism, Asperger Syndrome and craniofacial disorders, are spotlighted in "Healing," Lenkus, who began the prlject in April, said she realized after several sessions that the project was going to be much bigger in scope than she thought.
"In a way, I was trying to push the envelope more than my typical family portraits," she said. "I wanted to experience what each family was feeling...I wanted to take that connection and move it to darker places--places that you normally wouldn't want to go in a portrait. A place of true emotion."
Partway through, Lenkus said she wasn't sure whether the images she had captured would be acceptable.
But when she showed her work to those involved with the Stramski Center, their response was one of overwhelming compassion.
"I was absolutely struck first by how artistic and well done they were," said Dr. Gary Feldman, medical director of the Stramski Children's Developmental Center. "They were amazing. But what struck me more importantly was how representative they were of the conditions that each patient has...
