ABOUT OTOART

 

The OtoArt project is a celebration of natural beauty and artistic inspiration drawn from human anatomy. Anaplastologists usually take painstaking care to conceal their work against human skin so it will go unnoticed. OtoArt gives us an opportunity to highlight the human ear as an artistic object for the public to enjoy!

 

OtoArt is a fundraising project of the Walter Spohn Trust, where imaginative artists transform twelve-inch polyurethane ear forms into Visual Expressions of Hearing. These works of art are then auctioned off to benefit education and research in anaplastology. The project is the brainchild of four anaplastologists who spent a weekend together museum hopping in London.  As they viewed classic masterpieces on display for the public, they discussed the fact that their prosthetic creations are successful only if no one notices them. But, what if they wanted to celebrate the beauty of an eye, a nose, or an ear and share it with the public? That’s when they thought of OtoArt! They decided that participation would be open to everyone with a passion for ears and art. 

 

This is still the spirit of the OtoArt project. We welcome anaplastologists, medical practitioners, painters, sculptors, photographers, medial artists, and anyone else who is interested to buy an ear, transform it into a work of art, and donate it for auction in support of the WST.

 

 

PAST OTOART EVENTS

 

The inaugural OtoArt exhibit and auction was held in Sarasota, Florida at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel as part of the combined meeting of the 25th Annual International Anaplastology Association Conference with the 3rd International Bone-Conduction Hearing-Craniofacial Osseointegration Symposium in March, 2011. Twenty-one ears were designed and embellished by artists from the US, Canada, and Europe and auctioned off to an international audience. They now reside in homes, offices, and clinics around the globe!

A new phase of the OtoArt fundraising effort began in 2013 at the International Anaplastology Association’s Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.  Since 2013, each year an OtoArt ear is designed specifically for the annual IAA meeting by featured artists, celebrating the location and/or theme of the meeting. Each new ear is showcased at its respective meeting and auctioned to support the WST.  

 

OtoArt 2017 added a twist to its participation criteria, welcoming ear-centered compositions in all different forms and media: 3d, 2d, painting, drawing, sculpture, screen print, 3d-print, photograph, etc. (realistic or abstracted). This new aspect of the project allowed artists to submit exciting and diverse pieces. OtoArt 2017 was a great success! We were able to showcase work at the 2017 IAA Annual Conference in Minneapolis, as at a public exhibition at Squirrel Haus Arts in Minneapolis. OtoArt hosted an Online Auction allowing art collectors and supporters to bit on each piece, and all auction-raised funds went directly to the support of the Walter Spohn Trust!

​

In May of 2018, two unique OtoArt 3d ears were created and showcased in at the 2018 IAA Annual Conference in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. These pieces will be auctioned in June 2019, at the IAA Annual Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. Learn more about the 2018 OtoArtists.

​

 

2019 OTOART

 

This June, three new OtoArt ears will be designed and showcased at the 33rd IAA Annual Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. Stay tuned for announcements and feature information about the 2019 OtoArtists.