[Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] Shooters illuminate their blurry world

[lisa]

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060421/ENTERTAINMENT01/604210303/1005/ENTERTAINMENT

visual arts: s.l. berry
Eye-opening
Shooters illuminate their blurry world
April 21, 2006

Imagine shooting photographs of subjects you can't see clearly -- or at 
all. That's what the members of the New York-based collective Seeing 
with Photography do.
Each member is either visually impaired or blind, and they create 
photographs of people, places and things they see (or don't see). The 
results are as insightful as they are artful -- they provide viewers 
with a sense of what it's like to live in a world of blurred images, 
light and shadows, impressions and interpretations rather than distinct 
visuals.
Seeing With Photography's black-and-white images make up the exhibit 
"Shooting Blind," which opens today at the Indianapolis Art Center.
The images are made using a technique called "painting with light," in 
which flashlights illuminate the subjects during long exposure times in 
complete darkness. The resulting images feature contrasts in sharpness 
and softness, streaks and distortions, details and obscurities -- in 
other words, symbols of visual impairment and loss.
The photographers use tactile and audio cues from sighted assistants to 
help orient themselves and their cameras while creating their work. 
Though they cannot always see the results of their efforts, the members 
of Seeing With Photography know about the effects they achieve through 
the feedback they receive.
The Aperture Foundation, a New York-based organization that supports 
photography exhibitions and publishes the internationally acclaimed 
magazine "Aperture," was so impressed by Seeing With Photography's work 
that it is underwriting the "Shooting Blind" show. It also has published 
a book by the same name.
In addition to "Shooting Blind," the Art Center is displaying "Indiana 
Contemporary Woodworkers: A Hands-On/Touch Exhibition." It consists of 
three-dimensional pieces that visitors can touch.
The Art Center also is offering guided tours of the show ($2.50 per 
person), as well as the opportunity to try activities such as Braille 
painting, textural collage, ceramics, and pin-hole camera photography 
($10-$25 per person).


Shooting Blind: Photographs by the Visually Impaired
• *Where:* Indianapolis Art Center, 820 E. 67th St.
• *When:* Today through June 11. Reception 6 to 8 p.m. May 5.
• *Cost:* Exhibition is free; reception is $7 for those who are not Art 
Center members.
• *Information:* (317) 255-2464.
text to photo
Visually impaired photographer Peter Lui shot "Mary Walling Blackburn," 
one of the images in the exhibition "Shooting Blind." - Photo provided 
by the Indianapolis Art Center