Story Walls

Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center (Rancho) is one of the top ranked rehabilitation hospitals in the United States, and is a public health facility with a history of excellence and innovation with a patient-family centered approach to care. Vital to the success of the Civic Art Program for Rancho is the engagement of Rancho artists from the art programs and the clinicians, researchers, staff and volunteers that form the Rancho family. The artworks created under the Los Angeles County Arts Commission Civic Art Program foster a sense of community and humanity that reflect the mission of Rancho to restore health, rebuild life and revitalize hope for persons with a life-changing illness, injury or disability, while creating a welcoming, humanizing and uplifting atmosphere for the patients, visitors and staff. Artists Deborah Aschheim, De la Torre Brothers (Jamex and Einar) and Glenn Kaino/Kainoco, Inc.’s civic artworks contribute to the healing environment and are integrated within the Campus to build a cohesive vision that recognizes the power and journey of recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration.

Story Wall – Deborah Aschheim

Story Wall visually communicates Rancho Los Amigos’ history of innovation and patient-centered care, its mission to rebuild full and rewarding lives aided by an incredibly supportive patient and caregiver community, and program’s remarkable history and vision for breakthrough achievements in medical science and technology.
Deborah Aschheim spent time in residence at Rancho interacting, observing and participating in the daily happenings on campus that inform her hand drawn glass artworks and videos. Story Wall’s first section, “History,” tells the story of Rancho’s transformation from the County Poor Farm to one of the largest and best rehabilitation hospitals in the country, featuring historic images from Rancho’s archive, contemporary photographs shared by the staff and pictures the artist drew from observation and the architectural renderings. “Mission” features stories and intimate portraits of patients and caregivers actively living fulfilling, challenging and creative lives that show the diversity of people and interests of Rancho. The final section, recognizing Rancho’s “Future,” is a network that makes a stylized reference to brain calls or the nervous system through subtly glowing lines. For the video program, the artist filmed and collected footage from scientists and researchers across Rancho and from its research affiliates at Caltech and USC; from physical therapy, Rancho robotics, Rancho sports and women’s competitive wheelchair basketball; from recreational therapy, performing and visual arts; and patient created videos.