I have always looked down on visual art. As a blind person I always felt that art outside of music or writing was not accessible. Even if it was accessible, I felt that art was more for those people on the fringe of what I would consider normal. I guess a more succinct way to put it is I have shown little respect to those who create or look at paintings, pictures etc.
If I was reading this blog entry I would be wondering why is a blind person writing about art? The answer is simple; I want to better understand the world in which we live. There is no better way to do that than to learn what people are passionate about. Besides, maybe I might find a new hobby or something.
At first I thought I wanted to explore visual art as a way to be different, my effort to be a counter cultural blind person. Upon further inspection of my thoughts, this whole idea has been evolving in my head for a long time now. It all began when I was thinking about how I rarely nourish my creative side. We all have imaginations. Unfortunately our imagination often dies with adulthood. “Perhaps,” I thought, “I am missing something.” Is it possible that art might be away for us to engage our mostly dead imaginations?
I also considered how we do not often give ourselves the opportunity to enjoy things outside of our own comfortable areas of personal interests. In a group at church we have discussed, at various times, the value of art. In Toronto, I created some of the most horrific-looking street art ever made by balancing rocks. What struck me when I was balancing rocks was that how horrible it looked did not matter so much. I enjoyed myself!
So a while ago, I was talking to a friend about my desire to go to an art exhibition. I did not think that she would take me seriously. Little did I know that one Friday afternoon last October would be the day that she invited me to an art gallery! I went in classic “Dobbs” style: hopeful but with a degree of skepticism.
The exhibition was in a cool little space downtown. If it is possible, I felt “urban” in Indianapolis. There were hors dourves, a bar, and Nine Inch Nails playing on the music system. Two thumbs up on the atmosphere!
The first exhibit involved aliens, a trailer and a UFO flying saucer picture. My friend described the pictures to me and I started wondering what the point to it was. After a while, I got to speak with the artist. She was gracious enough to allow me to touch an alien changing a tire on the trailer, let me feel a moon rock along with explaining to me her take on what she had created. Sure the whole exhibit was unusual but I found beauty in it. Maybe someone just likes alien and UFO stuff. Perhaps it is a reflection of society pointing out that we are all aliens driven by our desire of individuality and we don’t even know our neighbor. Maybe the aliens represent loneliness or a sincere belief that earth will be invaded by UFO’s soon. So many interpretations, and the cool thing is, you can have your own opinion on what the exhibit represents. Freedom of interpretation!
There was another exhibit about Big Foot. Initially I dismissed this exhibit until I spoke with the artist. The point to his exhibit was simple, and I was looking for a more complex meaning. That reminded me that sometimes we should take things for what they are and not look for deeper meanings. We should take time to live life and enjoy the day; something many of us generally don’t do well.
So, visual art is indeed accessible. A blind person may need a sighted person for descriptive purposes, but then you are free to simply enjoy and use your imagination. I doubt I will become an art critic, traveling around to art galleries, but I discovered I can go and enjoy an art exhibition just like everyone else.
To all visual artists out there, I offer you my sincere apology. I have learned an important lesson; that all types of art are accessible, maybe we just need to use our imaginations.
To view photos of artwork from the exhibit Shawn visited at IMOCA, click Phenomenon.
