My friend Ann Cunningham is amazing. Referring to herself as a "tactile artist," Ann creates art intended to be experienced not just visually, but also tactually. She is the author and artist of Sadie Can Count, a tactile book with raised pictures. In this video, Ann shows how she does this with a photograph from a museum collection that she translated into a format that could be read by the visually impaired.
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3 thoughts on “Teaching the blind to look at visual art”
Wow, what a fascinating peek into a world where the visual cues we sighted people take for granted must be “learned” by the blind like learning to read. It simply never occurred to me, but of course for someone who has never been able to see, the idea that things farther away “get smaller” would be utterly foreign. Mind bending! Thanks for that Alyson! Barbara J Carter http://www.barbarajcarter.com
This is so wonderful to see! Over here in the UK we have the Living Paintings Trust (a registered charity I support, http://www.livingpaintings.org/) that produces ‘plaques’ for the blind for museum art collections as well as a free national library of books that are both raised and visible so blind and sighted families can read together. It’s such a great endevour and I’m glad to see an artist creating these kinds of images. Those of us with sight problems can appreciate the value of Ann and LPT’s wonderful work. I hope museums and foundations are supporting her work and helping make it accessible. Bravo Ann!
Barbara: And I found it fascinating that she was reading the teepee as a hand. That wouldn’t occur to us sighted folks either. Tina: Good for you! It sounds like a wonderful charity.