October 12, 2007

Art through the eyes of the blind
Blind and legally blind artists create artwork for an annual show.
BY COURTNEY PERKES
The Orange County Register

The bloom of roses and irises in Doris Carlton's garden inspired the watercolor paintings covering the walls of her Orange home in a trellis of color.

But as macular degeneration has claimed more and more of her vision, she can't see the detail of petals and leaves anymore. And her canvas appears dim and foggy.

But Carlton, 82, still paints her favorite flowers, wearing glasses and peering at a powerful magnifying device on her dining room table.

"I have shorter periods of time that I paint now because my eyes get tired," says Carlton, a retired college administrative assistant. "It takes me many more hours to complete a painting. I let other people tell me what they see. There's a different view when you're close and I can't see it from afar."

Four of her floral portraits are on display at the Shared Visions art exhibit at the Southern California College of Optometry in Fullerton. The free 80-piece exhibit includes work from 34 blind and legally blind sculptors, painters and photographers.

Organizers created the exhibit to showcase the artistic insights of those who have lost their vision entirely or whose sight is dim, fuzzy or obscured.

"Losing your sight is not the end of your life," says Carlton. "The artwork is certainly one way of showing that. It makes me feel like I have a ministry, like I'm encouraging people to keep on trying."

The works range from the realistic to the whimsical. Some display themes of sight like "Nearsighted," which shows a bespectacled child examining two sticks up close to his face. A more abstract painting stares at viewers with a penetrating blue eye at the bottom of a flower vase. Other works incorporate textures such as sea shells, grains of sand or mosaic tiles.

A curator's description of each work often describes how the artists believe their work enhances their vision or how their impaired vision has enhanced their art.

One artist paints "whatever she sees in her mind." Another says that "her hands are her most important attribute." Still another reveals "his art shows what he can see as well as what he'd like to see." A photographer describes how her digital camera has extended her vision to "see details of a world normally blurred."

For Carlton, her worsening vision has softened her pieces.

"I know my work has become looser, more free-flowing than it was before, and more vibrant," she says. "The work that I did when I had my sight is more detailed, more clearly defined."

Jim Dahl, an assistant professor of art education at Cal State Fullerton, helped select the art from entrants across the United States and as far away as Europe. The youngest exhibitor is a 13-year-old Costa Mesa boy.

"It's a bit of a contradiction …that these people would make art," Dahl says. "The aesthetic sense is not necessarily tied to being able to see."

Dahl said the exhibit shows tremendous depth and variety.

"There were some that were very realistic and others that were completely expressive," he says. "There are things that will amaze you just as art for its own sake. There's everything from cute to really profound."

The exhibit, which went on display this month, has been catching the attention of patients visiting the school's eye care center. Francine Freedman of Covina stopped to admire the pieces on the way to her daughter's eye appointment last week.

"I love it," she says. "I can't comprehend that they don't have full vision. I wish I had such talent. Look at this. This is so gorgeous."

Optometrist Rebecca Kammer, who works with low-vision patients, said the exhibit started three years ago after a renovation left stark, blank walls. A low-vision patient who had worked as a fashion photographer suggested an exhibit of vision-impaired artists.

The school recruited artists with vision of 20/200 or worse, each with a different story of losing sight, whether at birth or in old age.

"In the art, you see how they're adjusting, whether they're at a joyful point or grieving," Kammer says. "It comes across."

Amine Gekchyan, whose 13-year-old son displayed two black-and-white drawings, said the show has helped her see her son's independence.

Sarkis became legally blind as a young child after osteopetrosis damaged his optic nerve. He has learned Braille and can create detailed drawings of mythical warriors in very close range.

"He's been drawing since he was little," Gekchyan says. "Literally his nose is usually stuck to the paper when he draws. He can create a lot based on what's going on in his imagination."

Gekchyan of Costa Mesa said her son's participation in the show has encouraged him to explore different creative mediums.

"It's been very exciting for him," she says. "He's already thinking, 'What can I put up for next year?' "

Go and see

Visit www.sccoeyecare.com for details on viewing the 2007-2008 Shared Visions Art Exhibit, or call 714-449-7401.

Vision loss

Here are some causes of vision loss for the artists showcased in the Shared Visions exhibit:

Macular degeneration:The macula, located on the retina, controls central vision. When it thins or deteriorates, the eye can no longer see fine details. It can be genetic.

Glaucoma:A disease of the optic nerve. If untreated, permanent optic nerve damage results in visual field loss and eventually blindness.

Optic nerve hypoplasia: An underdevelopment of the optic nerve head that leads to low vision

Source: Southern California College of Optometry