[Art_beyond_sight_theory_and_research] Blind with Camera Through the mind's eye

[Lisa Yayla]

http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/04/15/stories/2007041500220700.htm

INDIA BEATS

Through the mind's eye

GEETA PADMANABHAN

Visually-impaired people at the Victoria Memorial School for the Blind 
give a different angle to photography.

NUANCED EXPRESSION: A photo by Mahesh Umrrania.
AS an exhibiting photographer, viewing life from a different angle is 
second nature to Partho Bhowmick of Mumbai. So it isn't surprising he 
should have seen an extraordinary opportunity in what most would have 
thought an indulgent gesture. He believed he could teach blind people 
photography.

"Accident," he says, describing how he stood frozen at the roadside shop 
when he chanced upon this story in an old photo magazine. A blind 
photographer in Paris, successful. Name: Evgan Bavcar. "I at once 
e-mailed him, looked at his compositions online." There's a touch of 
reverence in Partho's voice. "I was profoundly influenced by his work 
and philosophy." He began research on blindness and visual art, learned 
of visual artists around the world. He watched "Children of a Lesser 
God", "The Scent of a Woman" and "Sparsh" and read Helen Keller's The 
Story of My Life.

Predictable response


In 2005, Blind with Camera began to crystallise in his mind. A workshop 
to see the visual world through the "eyes" of blind people. Would they 
be interested in sharing his passion? He talked to associations for the 
blind. The response was predictable. "Endless questions, doubts," he 
says mildly. The impediment was not sightlessness, it was lack of 
acceptance. Six months later, he got a call from the Victoria Memorial 
School for the Blind.

"One of our blind students informed the management about Partho's dream 
workshop," said Radha Subrahmanian, Trustee and Hony. Secretary, VMSB. 
"We jumped at the idea. There's nothing blind people cannot do. 
Shouldn't they try out to know if they can?" Go on, she told Partho, 
three months back. The school gave students and infrastructure, Kodak 
gave cameras, roll and D/P.

"Quite a challenge," admits Partho. It meant adaptive ways to 
communicate the process of creation. The idea was to prove that 
photographs could be shot by the mind as much as by the eye. "Their 
pictures are their point of view, reflection of their experience of 
reality and anchored with what they feel. I taught myself from 
zero...The results were surprising."

Understanding an art


At the workshop, visually impaired participants learn the basics using 
point-and-shoot 35 mm or SLR cameras. They use raised images, Braille 
notes, visual aids and audio descriptions of illustrations. Outdoors 
they add sound, warmth of light and help from friends. Those who had 
sight for a while rely on visual recollections of the "subject". 
Propelled by strong intuition, they place the camera in relation to the 
object, space and light and click. The final composition, the 
"thoughtfully different" picture, depends on their life experience, the 
extent of blindness, clarity of visual memories, ability to think and 
judge and their involvement with the subject.





Partho Bhowmick.

Viewing objects through the mind's eye frees you from the "the falsehood 
of training, the restrictive rules of perfection and the influence of 
visual culture", they argue. Freed from expectations, it proves "seeing" 
is as much touching and hearing. It's photography in the purest, truest 
form — you "create" a picture.

The students are delighted. Rahul, blind since birth and a BPO aspirant 
says, "Without tips, I was asked to shoot visually-impaired kids playing 
in a room. I used sound to base my judgment, my heart to capture the 
silence and mind to seize the moment." Mahesh, who lost sight at nine: 
"Photography reconnects me to the visual world." R. Dharmarajan, 
Economist, government officer: "I try to set an example by taking the 
negative and making it positive — both in life and work. My photography 
is a reflection of that attitude." Kanchan Pamnani, solicitor, who gave 
up photography when she lost sight: "My interest in photography was 
rekindled when hope was held out we could develop it into a hobby." 
Sunil's picture of VMSB's magnificent entrance is a much-published one. 
For Nikhil, a class VI student at VMSB, "the camera is more than a toy. 
It captures my imagination."

Gift of self-expression


The farsighted workshop is today poised to become a movement that 
celebrates self-expression. The photographers' vision will reach the 
public through exhibitions, books, films and websites. "It builds hope 
and self-esteem and empowers them financially," says Partho. Typically, 
he glimpses a larger picture. "A disabled person should not just live 
independently, but contribute to art and culture." He sees himself 
standing at the starting point of a long race towards this. I then had 
to ask. Is it sympathy that will pull audiences? "Curiosity," he admits. 
"Appreciation depends on viewer background and conditioning." He doubts 
if even art critics/ media reporters will be able to comment, as "they 
are not exposed to this concept. What they should appreciate is the 
effort that communicates a new understanding of visual art and helps 
correct prejudices towards disability. Finally what is created by them 
is important and not their disability." The exhibition will travel to 
other cities in June.

Want to be a Friend of BwC? Wish to be a part of this venture? Donate, 
share, volunteer, purchase or just join the e-mail base. Catch Partho at 
parthobhowmick at gmail.com.

India Beats features stories of the unusual, the exotic and the 
extraordinary.