Visual Arts by the Visually Impaired — أعمال فنية من فنانين ذوي التحديات البصرية

LONDON – It was Leonardo da Vinci who described the eyes as windows to the soul, but what of the estimated 285 million people globally who are visually impaired? Does visual impairment prohibit people from creating, consuming and enjoying the visual arts?

The term ‘visual arts’ itself may lend itself to the assumption that sight is an essential and necessary sensory tool in the creation and consumption of art works. 

However there are a number of renowned artists who are visually impaired and still manage to not only experience the visual arts but also to create incredible artworks which are valued for their technical skill. 

It is through their processes which we can learn so much about the intuitive and sensory aspects of creating and understanding art.

Esref Armagan:

Paintings by Turkish artist Esref Armagan

One artist whose work has provided incredible insight into the relationship between sight and art is Turkish artist Esref Armagan. 

Born blind, Armagan has no personal experience of seeing the world around him, however throughout his lifetime he developed a unique process in learning how to understand and use colour, shadow and light in his work.The young artist first experimented with making art in his father’s workshop, where he would etch images on cardboard as his father guided his son’s hands over the lines and described what he saw.

His work is remarkable in the use of colour, shadow, composition, perspective and scale. He is also able to draw objects in three dimensions, which scientists previously thought to be impossible for someone without sight. Incredibly, In a scientific experiment conducted on Armagan, it was found that when he draws, his visual cortex lights up, whereas this area of the brain would stay dark for most visually impaired people. 

Armagan is not alone in proving that visual impairment need not be an inhibiting disability when it comes to the arts. 

Vincent Van Gogh:

Sunflowers and The Starry Night paintings by Van Gogh comparisons.

Despite the vivacious use of colour in his paintings, Vincent Van Gogh is now thought to have actually been colour blind according to modern experts who compare his colour ranges to someone who suffers from colour blindness.

Keith Salmon:

Paintings by English artist Keith Salmon.

Keith Salmon is an English artist who was diagnosed later in life with diabetic retinopathy after which his eyesight deteriorated rapidly, leaving him legally blind. 

What is particularly impressive about Salmon‘s work is that he paints landscapes, whilst unable to actually see them, he uses his hands with the paint to feel the shapes and lines. 

Arthur Ellis:

Works by Arthur Ellis.

Artist Arthur Ellis used blu tack to map out his paintings, and has a tool which is similar to a barcode reader which he can press against a tube of paint which will tell him what colour it is.

Neil Haribsson:

Neil Haribsson with his paintings.

Artist Neil Harbisson is a lifetime sufferer of a very rare form of colour blindness called achromatopsia, meaning that he sees the world in shades of grey. His condition was the catalyst behind installing an implant into his brain which protrudes through his skull and dangles in front of his face, enabling him to hear colours and images as sounds, as well as connect to Bluetooth devices around him and receives images, videos and music from space directly into his head.  

As a result he has been branded as the ‘world’s first cyborg artist’, and says he no longer feels 100% human. His work as an artist explores identity, human perception and the connection between sight and sound and the use of artistic expression via new sensory inputs. 

Claude Monet:

Monet, Arm Of The Seine Near Giverny At Sunrise, Oil on Canvas, 81.6x93cm, 1896-1897, monetgallery.org

Renowned impressionist painter Claude Monet wrote in a letter in 1918 to his ophthalmologist that he was no longer able to perceive colours ‘with the same intensity’, and stated ‘what I painted was more and more dark and more and more like an old picture’. 

He subsequently underwent two surgeries, the second of which would improve his eyesight but left him seeing everything in yellow hues through one eye and blue hues in the other eye. He went on to paint with only one eye open at a time, and produced a series of blue and yellow tinted works. 

Arts Education for the visually impaired:

3D print of the Mona Lisa by Unseen Art.

Another important aspect of the discourse on art and the visually impaired is education. How can we ensure that people suffering from visual impairment are not prohibited from learning about the arts in our museums and galleries? 

At its core, art evokes emotional reactions from people, and it would be ignorant and discriminatory to suggest that people who are visually impaired are somehow unable to feel the same emotive responses to a work of art. What they need is an alternative route to experiencing the work which does not rely on vision. 

As a result of this, many museums regularly host a range of creative and inspiring programmes in order to engage and educate partially sighted and blind people. 

3D render of the Mona Lisa by Unseen Art.

One way of enabling people to experience a work of art is through touch, where visually impaired people will be given archival gloves to touch a work, which allows an appreciation for texture. Alternatively, museums such as the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London make sure to provide audio description for visitors of their exhibitions. This essentially brings art to life through describing not only what is in the frame but also providing historical and social context about the work. 

Projects such as the Unseen Art Project run by Helinski based designer Marc Dillon are using 3D printing technology to allow visually impaired people to experience the classics such as the Mona Lisa and Van Gogh‘s iconic Sunflowers. Similarly at the Belvedere Museum in Vienna a 3D printed version of Gustav Klimt‘s iconic painting The Kiss is on display for visitors, which is an all-white, smaller version of the original with more emphasis on the tactile aspects on the work as well as sensors which trigger audio commentary of the work as you explore.

This can be not only a wonderfully full experience for people to explore art works, but it also ensures that visually impaired people with raw artistic talent and huge capabilities such as Esref Armagan are not prohibited from developing their interests and talents in the visual arts.