you're invited to...

PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK

THE MULTI-SENSORY, CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION WITH NO “VIEWING” NECESSARY

ACCESSIBLE OPENING EVENT JULY 16^TH, 2011  5-9 PM

BY APPOINTMENT JULY 16^TH-20^TH

2130 WEST CHICAGO AVENUE, CHICAGO IL 60622

FEATURING

ADAM ROSE, ASHA TAMIRISA, ERIC STEFANSKI, FERESHTEH TOOSHI, HYEON KIM, JENNIFER GROSSMAN, KATE HAMPEL, MARCI RUBIN, MICELE BOCK, STEVE FROST, YOUNG JOON KWAK

CURATED BY EMMA STEIN

PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK is a multi-sensory, contemporary art exhibition that makes art accessible to the visually impaired. 

The exhibition will feature non-visual curatorial methods and artwork that is accessible by its multi-sensory nature.  In addition to advancing the field of art accessibility, the exhibition will also provide a meaningful experience for the sighted, giving participants an opportunity to branch out of strictly visual modes of engagement with artworks.

PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK is a community-based and community-funded project.  While most of the artists represented are located in Chicagoland, the contributors to this project form a much larger, diverse community of activists who are working to increase the accessibility of art around the country.

For more information or questions about the accessible opening event, write to pleasetouchtheartwork@gmail.com

CALL FOR ARTISTS--PLEASE RE-POST

I have a great group of artists signed up to participate in the exhibition already, but am looking for more.  In particular, I am looking for multi-sensory new media and sound submissions.  See the official call for artists below, or on chicago artist resource.  

PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK is a multi-sensory exhibition of accessible artworks with no "viewing" necessary.  The exhibition will take place in the city of Chicago in a terrific space in Ukrainian Village during the month of July. 

We are now looking specifically for new media and sound artists with practices that branch out of a strictly visual operating sphere.

The exhibition PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK will demonstrate the diverse methods employed by contemporary artists to branch out of the visual realm and utilize feasible curatorial methods to ensure accessibility to the visually impaired.  It will help set a precedent for accessibility reform in American art institutions and send an important message to the visually impaired community that engagement with art objects is not limited to the sighted. 

It will also provide a meaningful experience for those who are not dealing with vision-loss, as it will allow "non-viewers" to confront their reliance on vision and embrace a multi-sensory mode of engagement with the exhibition.

For more information about the project, visit these sites:
http://tastyspoonful.blogspot.com/2011/03/touch-artno-really.html
http://pleasetouchtheartwork.blogspot.com/
 
To submit to PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK, email a description of your practice and the kind of work you'd like to contribute to pleasetouchtheartwork@gmail.com

Exhibition Space

I have secured an excellent space for the exhibition in Chicago's Ukrainian Village, on Chicago Avenue.  Installation will be taking place during the first few weeks of July, with the opening on July 16th from 5-9pm.  Looking forward to seeing you there!  The exact address will be posted next week, so be sure to check back!

SUCCESS!

PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK is now completely funded!  We hope to see you on July 16th, here in Chicago.  Thank you to everyone who made this possible, especially our generous backers on kickstarter, and those who helped spread the word during the last few months of fund-raising!

NEXT 2011

NEXT 2011 was a huge success for Robert Bills Contemporary, and was a great experience for me.  I am thrilled with the quality and amount of work we sold, but also glad this crazy whirlwind of a week has come to an end!

One fun part of the weekend was getting to meet one of my PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK artists in person for the first time.  She is an extremely talented artist who informed me that she will be making an installation piece specifically for this show.  I could not be more thrilled at the level of commitment and interest so many people I have encountered through this process have shown--including this artist.

Another interesting experience I had while working at the fair this weekend has to do with an interactive piece we were showing in our booth.  A very young, up-and-coming artist I discovered only a few weeks ago, who will be a part of the group show I am curating in June at RBC, showed a piece called "Cycle II," that was a huge hit.  The sculpture was a large, wheel-like structure made of wood, with a diorama-style landscape that inhabits the inner part of the wheel.  Viewers are invited to turn a crank, which rotates the wheel, allowing different views of the landscape as it moves around the circle.  The piece was a huge hit and sold before the fair was even officially open.  The immense popularity of this interactive piece allowed for many conversations with people enthusiastic about the idea of being able to "touch the artwork."  It affirmed for me the importance of this project not only for the visually-impaired, but as a step towards a more open and interactive environment for the exhibiting of art.

THANK YOU!!

...to my wonderful new backers: Nathan Vernau, Stephen Croncota, Gary Angel, Carol Lau, Kay and Steve Fike, Jay Lefton, Elona Baum, Paul Novak, my lovely grandmother Lucille Stein, Phil Schlein, A-J Aronstein, and Jan Nussbaum.  I am so appreciative of your support!

THANK YOU!

...to Mark Bassewitz and Jennifer Miller for your generous pledges on kickstarter!  I so appreciate your support!

A GIANT THANK YOU...

...to Lee Shapiro and Manal for your amazingly generous pledges on kickstarter.com!  I am so appreciative of your support!

A GIANT THANK YOU...

to Annie and Saul!!  I am so appreciative of your support!

THANK YOU!

...to Dr. Jacque Duncan for your amazingly generous pledge on kickstarter, and your support of PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK! I am so appreciative of your efforts!

New Kickstarter Video

Check out the video I made to gain support on kickstarter!  I'd love to know what you think!  See it on the kickstarter site here.  You can also play it in the sidebar to the right ---->

THANK YOU!!

...Norrie Meth for your generous pledge on kickstarter.com!  I so appreciate your support!

THANK YOU!!

...to Lauren Leighton for your generous pledge!  I appreciate your support as a backer of the project!

Sensory Translation

While I have been dedicating most of my effort lately to fund-raising for PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK, a large part of the Project for Art Accessibility is also the research I am doing into the resources available at art institutions across the nation.  Through my research I have discovered diverse methods innovative museum educators like Lisa (her guest post is below), are experimenting with to make art accessible to the visually impaired.  


One theme that has emerged in these experimental techniques is that of sensory translation.  By this I mean that the accessibility is achieved by attempting to translate a visual experience into an audio or tactile experience.  Visual description tours, touch tours, and tactile diagrams are some of the tools being implemented at museums around the country that operate on this principle of sensory translation.

While some museums have started to experiment with ways to translate the visual experience into other senses in order to provide options for the visually impaired, PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK aims to exhibit artwork that becomes accessible by its multi-sensory nature, with no sensory translation necessary. The exhibit does not imitate the visual experience in other forms, rather, it replaces it with equally meaningful, non-visual interactions. This is what truly sets it apart from any current effort to increase the accessibility of art to the visually impaired, and what makes it an engaging experience for everyone.  The multi-sensory artwork can be experienced by all the way it was intended to, with no filtering or translating.

A great example of this kind of artwork is the non-visual performance that was given by local artist Fereshteh Toosi at the Defibrillator Performance Art Gallery.  "Viewers" placed their hand through a hole in a screen that physically separated them the artist.  In a 'blind' interaction, the artist presented the 'viewer' with a surprising tactile experience, by massaging people's hands with olive oil and using other food items as props such as mung beans, a canteloupe, and spaghetti. At the end, everyone got an olive or two slipped onto the tips of their fingers.  Toosi's performance addresses critical themes of contemporary art such as viewer/artist interaction, the space of the body in performance art, and the blind trust inherent in the institutional consumption of art objects, in addition to being fully and equally accessible to all.  Both the blind and the sighted can relate to, understand and analyze this artwork with no sensory translation.

THANK YOU!!

...to Rachael Siegel and Kristin White, for your generous pledges on kickstarter!  Thanks for helping to make this project a reality!

Guest Post by Lisa Davis, Museum Educator

Today we are so lucky to feature a guest post from Lisa Davis, a museum educator right here in Chicago who is dedicated to making museums accessible to everyone.  Thank you Lisa!  Lisa is one of the people helping make PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK a reality!  We have just a little over a month left to raise funds for this project, so please stop by our kickstarter page and pledge to help make art accessible to the visually impaired!

'How do you experience an art museum? What do you see, feel, smell, and touch? How do you relate to the environment of the museum and the visual works around you?  What do you first think about when viewing a work?  What personal connections do you make with an art piece and how does that happen? 

As a museum educator these are all questions I consider for my audience.  I specifically work with teachers and students (K-12), writing tours of the collections and traveling exhibitions and creating resources the teachers can use to integrate art into their classroom learning.  But, more than anything else I do, I feel my most important role is to ensure all visitors have the opportunity to experience the visual arts. I believe that there should be no constraints—emotional, physical, financial, or otherwise— as obstacles to this important personal experience.

The questions above, you will notice, are often based on the sensory understanding.  Before a viewer can notice details, make connections to any art historical context, or interpret a work, they will experience it through their senses first, as with any moment in life.  So when thinking about this sensory reading, how do we include people who are without one or more of these senses? In the context of the environment in which I work, the art museum, the most outstanding concern is the visual. 

How can we ensure a person with low or no vision is able to experience a visual art piece?  I used to ask this question as, “How can we ensure…..is able to experience a visual piece in the same way as a person with no impairment?” until I realized I was asking the wrong question.  Instead of trying to force the square peg, I needed to reconsider my definition of how people see. 

As I begin to see more and more art museums developing “touch tours” or including multi-sensory tools for visitors, it seems my belief is shared by many educators in the art/museum world.  An added benefit is how these multi-sensory tools can be integrated to enhance the experience for others as well.  Often museums will have large print text of wall labels and most offer audio guides.  Over the past few years efforts have increased: Some museums are allowing—with gloves, small groups and special permissions—viewers to touch, to feel the contours of a sculpture. Some have developed tours that use music to describe the emotional sense or dynamics of a work, include three-dimensional recreations to touch, and have materials, similar to those used in the work itself, available to touch, or even smell, along the way.  Tours are led by docents well-educated in the Sighted Guide technique and Verbal Description, as they guide groups of varying sight abilities through the museum.

There are really incredible resources available to those of us who strive to be inclusive.  Art Education for the Blind (www.artbeyondsight.org) is especially strong.  This organization out of New York, established in 1987, has developed a wide variety of resources for teachers, museum educators, and other seeking to bring the visual arts to everyone.  They also provide accessibility training for museum staff, which may also include Visitor Services departments, to help ensure a positive museum experience overall.  AEB and the American Association for Museums are two organizations which have begun to research and publish information about accessibility in museums.  The National Endowment for the Arts’ Office for AccessAbility is a wonderful resource as well, as we attempt to meet and exceed government and ADA standards and regulations.

I understand the logistical challenges and sometimes financial obstacles that keep institutions from moving forward quickly.  I know there are bureaucratic issues that present barriers at some museums, and I know accessibility is one pet project among many. I am fairly new to this field and am not informed enough to speak on how this topic is being addressed in the larger scale, internationally, or in Museum Studies programs, which turn out amazing museum educators annually.  But from a personal perspective I have seen great strides made in the art world to include all visitors in the visual experience.  It no longer seems museums are considered, as one Newsweek article quoted in 2009, "essentially visual institutions.” The art museum has become an experience for seeing, in every sense of the word.'

Submitted by Lisa Davis, Museum Educator, 2011

THANK YOU!!

...John Herbstritt, Fereshteh, Kathy Kerr-Schochet, James Duesterberg, and Tatiana Natzke for your pledges on kickstarter.com!  I so appreciate your support!

THANK YOU!

...for your generous pledge on kickstarter Adrienne Cotterell!!  I am so glad to have you as a backer!

Profile of the project on Tasty Spoonful

AJ Aronstein captured the spirit and intent of the project wonderfully when he wrote,

"Please Touch the Artwork is not about the exemplarity (and by this I mean, the spectacular or exceptional) of the disabled body and its relationship with art–but about creating a more inclusive definition of the kind of multi-sensory art that belongs in the space of the gallery and museum."

Thanks for the profile, AJ!  Be sure to read the whole article on Tasty Spoonful here.

"Without You I'm Nothing: Interactions" at the MCA

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago is currently presenting a series of performances called "Without You I'm Nothing: Interactions" January 4 - May 1, 2011, a component of the exhibition "Without You I'm Nothing."  While the exhibition at large examines how artists have incorporated the museum audience or "viewers" into conceptual pieces over the last few decades, this performance series specifically provides an opportunity to experience the promised inclusion the exhibition puts on display.  A full list of the performances can be found here.  I have highlighted the ones below that operate outside of the visual realm.  These performances are good examples of the kind of work PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK aims to highlight, namely, contemporary art that is accessible because of its purposeful operation outside of the hegemonic viewer-object relationship normally supported by museums.  As this exhibition and performance series shows, artwork has been created over the last few decades in order to push the boundaries of traditional "viewing" practices.  These pieces can be engaged with by the visually impaired as they were intended to be, with no sensory translation necessary.


Nance Klehm: Culture of Soil
February 5: Sat 3 pm
In traditional agricultural communities, the new moon marks the beginning of spring when the tree sap starts running. On Saturday at 3 pm, Klehm hosts an outdoor fire in the MCA's Sculpture Garden where maple syrup tea is made and shared, then the work continues on a walk where Klehm tells stories about the uses of trees within the urban landscape.

Coppice (Noé Cuéllar and Joseph Kramer): Vinculum (Coincidence)
February 8-13: Tues, 1-3 pm and 5-7 pm; Wed-Sun 1-3 pm
Live performances for two accordions with four speakers play back pre-recorded sounds. The gallery is filled with multiple sounds, all at a moderate volume. The score is procedural, deriving its instructions from coincidences between two accordions as they intersect with the pre-recorded material and the activity in the space.

Dexter Bullard: The Dialogues
March 15-20: Tues 7-8 pm; Thurs-Sat 3-4 pm
These performances involve pairs of well known Chicago-rooted performers who have a conversation over the phone, not knowing who they are talking to. The audience listens in on the conversation while a guest sound artist mixes a hypnotic sonic sound, adding an additional dimension to the changing tone of the conversations.

Jonathan Chen: 19 situations for six improvisers: a system for hearing
March 29 - April 2: Tues 7-8 pm; Thurs and Sat, 2-3 pm
In this improvisational work each musician is provided with a pair of headphones to listen to another performer. The musicians improvise in response to the other musicians they hear, although this changes throughout the performance. Audience members are able to use the headphones to hear exactly the same sound as the musician they are near. The audience can experience the multiple perspectives central to the work by moving between the spaces occupied by each musician and listening to what the musicians are hearing through the headphones.

Amber Ginsburg and Lia Rousset: Viewing Soundscapes: Tapping the Audience
April 12-17: during museum hours
Tapping the Audience invites the audience to slip on a pair of tap shoes, amplifying the gallery experience and creating an audible acknowledgment of our physical patterns of viewing.

THANK YOU!

...to David for your generous pledge on kickstarter.com!

THANK YOU!

...to Chris Andrade for your generous pledge on kickstarter.com!

A GIANT THANK YOU...

...to our biggest supporter yet, for her amazingly generous pledge on kickstarter.com!  THANK YOU CAROLYN KLEBANOFF!! I am so appreciative of your support!

THANK YOU!

...to Tony Haftel, for your amazing pledge on kickstarter.com!  I'm so incredibly appreciative of your support!

THANK YOU!

...to Ingrid Haftel, for your generous pledge on kickstarter.com, and for being such a wonderful supporter of the project!

Kickstarter--Making my dream come true (with your help that is!)

I thought it might be a good idea to dedicate a blog post to giving some details about Kickstater.com, the micro-lending creative project fund-raising site I am using to make this project a reality.  They do a great job of explaining why their system works, so I am copying some of the relevant Frequently Asked Questions that give a good impression of what they are about.  While The Project for Art Accessibility does not have official non-profit status now, I hope to take that next step after this exhibition!  That is why I am funding this as a "project," as kickstarter defines it--something with a clear beginning and end, and a set amount of funding as a goal.  Here is some more about the site and why it works well for people with goals like mine:


"What is Kickstarter?
Kickstarter is a new way to fund creative projects.
We believe that:
• A good idea, communicated well, can spread fast and wide.
• A large group of people can be a tremendous source of money and encouragement.
Kickstarter is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands.

All-or-nothing funding?
Every Kickstarter project must be fully funded before its time expires or no money changes hands.
Why?
1. It allows people to test concepts (or conditionally sell stuff) without risk. If you don't receive the support you want, you're not compelled to follow through. This is huge!
2. It motivates. If people want to see a project come to life, they're going to spread the word.

Why do people support projects?
REWARDS! Project creators inspire people to open their wallets by offering smart, fun, and tangible rewards (products, benefits, and experiences).
STORIES! Kickstarter projects are efforts by real people to do something they love, something fun, or at least something of note. These stories unfold through blog posts, pics, and videos as people bring their ideas to life.

Who can fund their project on Kickstarter?
Kickstarter is focused on creative projects. We're a great way for artists, filmmakers, musicians, designers, writers, illustrators, explorers, curators, performers, and others to bring their projects, events, and dreams to life.
The word “project” is just as important as “creative” in defining what works on Kickstarter. A project is something finite with a clear beginning and end. Someone can be held accountable to the framework of a project — a project was either completed or it wasn’t — and there are definable expectations that everyone can agree to.

How do I pledge?
To pledge to a project, just click the green “Back This Project” button on any project page. You will be asked to input your pledge amount and select a reward. From there, you will go through the Amazon checkout process. Note that you must finish the Amazon checkout process for your pledge to be recorded.

If I make a pledge, when is my card charged?
If the project you’re backing is successfully funded, your card will be charged when the project reaches its funding deadline. If the project does not reach its funding goal, your card is never charged. That's why we call them pledges.

If funding does not succeed do backers pay anything?
Nothing. If funding fails, all pledges are canceled and that's that.

Are pledges tax deductible?
If a project creator has 501c3 status, then a pledge may be tax exempt. A project creator will likely tout their tax-exempt status if they have it.

THANK YOU!

...Adam Baim!  WOW! What a generous pledge! Thank you so much for your support Adam!

THANK YOU!

...Naiche for your generous pledge on kickstarter! I'm so glad to have you as a backer!

THANK YOU!

...to Constance Adler for your generous pledge on kickstarter.com!  I so appreciate your support!

THANK YOU!

...to Robert Gordon-Fogelson!! You're awesome, thanks for pledging on kickstarter.com! 

We made it to $500!

Thanks to my amazing backers on kickstarter, we just passed the $500 mark!! Thank you everyone!

THANK YOU!

...to Matt Lauterbach for your generous pledge!  I so appreciate you backing my project on kickstarter.com!

Pete Eckert- A Blind Visual Artist

Check out this absolutely inspiring video about a blind photographer, who takes photographs relying on his sense of hearing.
| Artists Wanted | In Focus : Pete Eckert from Artists Wanted on Vimeo.

Photographs for the Blind

I just stumbled upon this article that describes a process scientists are using to convert photographs of faces into tactile form.  I would love to hear some thoughts on this concept, especially from those who have used tactile printers in the past.  Click Here for the article.

THANK YOU!

Thank you to Monique Desormeau for your pledge! I so appreciate your support!

Guest post from the very special veteran "non-viewer" Janni Lehrer-Stein

The strange thing about being a blind person in an art museum is that I often feel like I am the exhibit.  People do stare at me, and often ask what I think I am doing there.

  

Well, the answer is simple.  I am there for the same reason as anyone else—to enjoy the art!  From there, things get a little more complicated.  I attend art exhibits at museums because I have loved art and art history for my entire life.  I have progressively lost my vision, and so I had the advantage of memory for many of the fine museums and exhibits that I had the privilege of visiting.  For me, visiting these museums again, even though I can no longer see most of the artwork housed there, is like seeing an old friend.  These museums are comfortable spaces for me, and with the right kind of assistance, I can use my very slight remaining vision and my memory and imagination to recreate the stunning pieces on display.

   

But many blind people have not had that advantage, and the issue is bigger than me.  My lifetime of advancing blindness, and my interaction with persons with many different disabilities has made clear to me that the disabled community is comprised of people with astonishing capability-born of the challenges they face simply to function in an ‘enabled’ society.  So, why not a blind person in an art museum?
   

Making the visual arts accessible is not so difficult.  For me, an audio guide that describes the composition and elements of the piece, as well as its place in art history, is a necessity.  While the regular audio guides, that add voices from the curator and general background about the genre are interesting, an intense description is for me, the means for actually visualizing a painting or sculpture.   The ability to handle art pieces that are durable enough to be touched provides so much sensory information, since blind people become expert at discerning tactile details.  Being able to trace the outlines of a face sculpted by Rodin was a thrill for me, both because I was touching the very work crafted by the hands of such a master, and because using my hands enabled me to understand the features.
   

But access to the artwork is just part of the issue when it comes to my visiting a museum.  Sometimes the museum spaces are confusing, or even dangerous to someone using a cane.  Sometimes lighting has to be dim to protect the artwork, making pathways even more difficult to traverse.  So lighting, pathway markings, and large, high contrast signs would be a luxury that would make a museum visit much easier for me.
   

There is no doubt that persons with disabilities wish to and should be included in all aspects of culture in modern society, including visual art.  I have been greeted at museums by docents and guards who embrace me, and are anxious to include me.  I have also been treated with disdain and disbelief for having the nerve to venture into a gallery or museum with my cane.  Ultimately, if there is one concept that would be most meaningful to a person challenged by disability who wishes to enjoy art just like anyone else, it would be the simple expression of respect.  So, next time you see me, or someone else with a white cane in an art museum, do me a favor.  Don’t stare—describe.  I am positive that the resulting exchange of information and ideas will benefit us all.

THANK YOU!

...to Leon and Judy Bloomfield for your generous pledge! I am so appreciative of your support as a backer!

THANK YOU!

...Carla Wertman for your generous pledge on kickstarter!!

Non-visual Curating

When we think of curating in the general sense, it is hard to separate it from the visual.  A curator does much more than create the visual unity of an exhibition; however, the role of creating a cohesive whole from a number of component parts, within the context of an art exhibit, seems to necessitate a strong visual component.  While a curator might rely on the visual only to express the desired thematic cohesion she seeks for the exhibition, she relies on the visual nonetheless.  Successful curating activates the key themes in subject and aesthetics, putting them to work for the larger concepts of the exhibit.  One of the most important ingredients is visual cohesion.
So then how do we remove the visual from the equation of successful curating?  Thematic unity remains, but with what vehicle is it conjured, if not the visual?  The "viewers," or in this case, the "non-viewers" or "experiencers" must be guided through the exhibit in a way that highlights each piece's strengths and reaffirms its place in the whole, allowing it to support the general thesis like any supporting paragraph in an essay.  The curator must provide guidance in a non-visual form.

One of the ways I plan to achieve this kind of non-visual curating in PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK derives from an experience I had with my mother abroad.  When we visited China 5 or 6 years ago, what she found immensely helpful were these tactile paths for the visually impaired that were imprinted into the sidewalk.  Whenever she approached a street corner, the texture of the path would change, alerting her to the end of the sidewalk.  I plan to appropriate this form of tactile guidance in my curating to create a non-visual path for the "non-viewers," that functions as visual curating would, guiding the experience of the individual pieces as a unified whole.
image credit: flickr ww_whist 

THANK YOU!

WOW! Max Koss!  THANK YOU!

THANK YOU!

...to Greta O'Brien and Ellen Leffler, 2 more generous backers!!

THANK YOU!

...to our very first backers on kickstarter.com, Daniel Kohrman and Risa Stein!  You are terrific, thanks for your support!!

Touch Galleries

Some readers may be familiar with museum "touch galleries."  These galleries are often geared towards children, such as the one at the Art Institute of Chicago, which I have visited on numerous occasions.  There is even an entire children's museum in Philadelphia dedicated to physical interaction with artworks.  While these type of facilities can provide one great access point for the visually impaired, the problem remains that these kinds of exhibits are specifically designed for children.  The kind of sophisticated, adult-oriented art "viewing" experience cannot be found with this type of programing.  Where these touch options do exist, there is often a very limited amount to choose from.  The one exception I have come across are tours that museums like the Rodin Museum in Paris provides, where, after putting on gloves, an attendant tours the museum with visitors, who are allowed to touch all or most of the pieces in the museum.
One of the most important factors that will be drive the curating process of PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK is the need for an accessible version of the intellectual and sophisticated art experience.

Some trends in the effort to make art accessible

I began the research component of this project some time ago, and in my exploration of the accommodations currently available to the visually impaired in American art institutions, I have discovered a variety of experimental services.  Having been to museums with my mother countless times since I was a child, I am familiar with the kind of issues she encounters while trying to interact with a museum exhibition along with the sighted public.  Being familiar with the specific problems she experiences in art museums as a blind "viewer," I can understand how the services currently being developed and already offered at some institutions came into being, and seem like somewhat logical solutions.  For example, every time we visit a museum together, I often end up describing the composition of artworks to my mother, who then uses my visual description and what she can make out with her limited vision to try to come to an understanding of the piece.  Often she will squint at the piece on the wall, using her finger to outline what she can see, remarking to me "Ah, I see a red blob over on the right side," or "I think I see a face, is this a portrait?"  Often, in the midst of my visual descriptions she will excitedly find a visual reference and exclaim "Oh! I see it! I get it!"  From these experiences with my mother I can understand exactly why extremely detailed auto description programs would be of assistance to the visually impaired visitors of a museum.  In fact a small number of museums either have specialized tours with extra visual description available, or in some cases allow their visually impaired patrons to use their general audio guides for free.
Another tool currently being tested in the field are tactile cards that attempt to translate the composition and palette of well-known pieces into a tactile experience.  This particular project I find to be more problematic.  Trying to reduce what is an entirely visual experience into a condensed, tactile version does not seem to me to be a real solution.  While braile works as a communication tool for the blind, it is an entirely new language that must be learned like a 2nd language.  Translating a visual experience into a tactile one that cannot embody nearly the amount of detail seems like a second-rate experience of the work.  While it could be helpful to people like my mother, who have a very limited amount of sight left, it does not replace the visual experience with one equally as meaningful.  That is where PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK hopes to intervene.
As opposed to focusing on ways to replace the visual experience, or translate it from one sense to another, PLEASE TOUCH THE ARTWORK aims to put on display art works that operate within a multi-sensory vocabulary from the beginning, so nothing is lost in translation.

Project Proposal for PLEASE TOUCH THE ART WORK: A Multi-Sensory Art Exhibition

While all art historians and art lovers alike aim to continuously engage with the visual world, I have a particularly strong awareness of my reliance on vision because of a serious genetic retinal degenerative disease that runs in my family. Growing up with a visually impaired mother who is also an activist for disability rights, I have always been aware of the struggles and limitations that people with disabilities face on a daily basis. In the last few years, I have become increasingly aware of the utter inaccessibility of the art world to the visually impaired. While specific branches of law are responsible for the progression of disability rights, the process of accessibility reform is slow and seems to be far removed from the art community. I feel that steps need to be taken to create awareness in the art community about the serious accessibility problems the art world faces as a series of practices, traditions and experiences that revolve entirely around vision.
The project has two goals: The first is to compile comprehensive data on the current state of art accessibility to the visually impaired in the U.S. This study could eventually contribute to the designing of a standardized format that would apply across museums and other exhibits to ensure access to everyone. The second is to demonstrate feasible solutions to accessibility problems by holding a local exhibition that features multi-sensory art objects. In the last few decades art practices that revolve around tactile, auditory, and phenomenological elements have found their way into the art historical canon; however, they are mainly revered for their conceptual value, as opposed to their inclusive significance. Creating an exhibition that demonstrates the diverse methods employed by contemporary artists to branch out of the visual realm and utilizes feasible curatorial methods to ensure accessibility would help set a precedent for accessibility reform in American art institutions. It would also send an important message to the visually impaired community that engagement with art objects is not limited to the sighted. It is a common assumption that the visual nature of art as it has existed for centuries necessarily excludes this segment of the population. With the development of new technologies and the recent history of new media art, this is no longer the case. Contemporary art has already redefined "the viewer" as "the experiencer." This exhibition aims to fully realize that conceptual move, translating it into a physical one.

Your pledges will directly fund the exhibition "Please Touch the Artwork." Exhibition costs include printing promotional materials and an exhibition catalog, renting a space for the exhibition, transportation of the art objects, supplies for the opening reception, and materials for preparing the gallery space.  Please visit the kickstarter.com project page to help make this exhibition a reality.

Image credit Grant Hollingworth