[accessibleimage] Re: [Fwd: [Art_beyond_sight_advocacy] VSA arts Invites Entr

Very well said, Lisa.
I'd like to add that if teachers have open enough minds, they may appreciate the insights of Prof. Ramachandran in the BBC Reith Lecture series from 2003, "The Emerging Mind". 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2003/lecturer.shtml
In particular Lecture 3, "The Artful Brain", on the question of 'What is art?' and Lecture 4, "Purple Numbers and Sharp Cheese", on synaesthesia. You can still hear the audio of these.
The Prof. points out very clearly how the visual properties of the brain are not entirely tied to the eyes - far from it. 

Vince.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Lisa Yayla" <lisa.yayla@xxxxxxxxxx> 
To: <accessibleimage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 8:39 AM
Subject: [accessibleimage] Re: [Fwd: [Art_beyond_sight_advocacy] VSA arts Invites Entr 


Hi Jimmie
For your doubting Thomases perhaps a good answer is to ask them if they think Degas had the capability to create visual art? Give them links to Art Beyond Sights pages where there are many examples of artists who are visually impaired. And that's just for starters. There are organizations for professional artist who are blind / low-vision, art competitions, hobby artists, struggling artists, artists whose works command high prices, art teachers who are legally blind, art students who are vi, VI artists who create new tools to express their thoughts, artists that became artists after they became blind, etc etc. The mediums used are wide. These comments are about those artists that work mostly in 2-dimensions.
OK it is a common misconception but on the positive side when one understands that it is incorrect it again reveals the wonder of the mind. Where one thought there was a limitation before realizes that there is not, the potential of the mind! Give them John Kennedy's works, show them Esref Armagans work and tell them what neurologists have learned from him
At the same time art is so important in many ways - it is part of our heritage, it is a question of participating in society. Doing, hearing, talking about it is everyones rights. Learning about art helps in other fields, abstract ideas in one field help another - Math and art are great companions.
This is a many sided issue - one thinks more about the tactile sense and it's meaning in art for the sighted as well as visually impaired. Highly recommend Rosalyn Driscolls site and here book Whole Body Seeing http://www.rosalyndriscoll.com/pages.php?which_page=book_overview. And then the question about accessibility to art works for everyone ...
Art is communication, ideas, thoughts, it comes from the mind and is for the mind. 


Pardon the editorial.


Regards,


Lisa







accessibleimage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx skrev 5. mai 2008 kl. 15:47 +0000:
Thank you, Lisa.
I have been working with art teachers that do not believe that people with
little or no vision have the capacity for visual arts ("except possibly
sculpture").
These higher-ed/university art teachers also do not believe there can be
equivalent text descriptions of visual arts.


Jimmie Flanagin, MA, ATP



Lisa Yayla
Huseby Kompetansesenter
Oslo Norway
lisa.yayla@xxxxxxxxxx

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