Art for All to Experience
by Jill Duff-Hoppes
Touching the artwork at museums and galleries is usually a big no-no. However, the opposite is true at a very accessible, new three-dimensional art show titled reVision: Seeing by Hand. Presented by the Florida Sculptors Guild (FSG) in collaboration with Lighthouse Central Florida, the unique exhibit is currently on display at the newly opened Casselberry Sculpture House.
Attendees are encouraged to touch (yes, touch) the more than two dozen sculptural pieces in the show, which includes work by local Jewish artists such as Marla E of Altamonte Springs and Mindy Z. Colton of Orlando. Although the juried exhibit was designed especially for people who are blind or have low vision, everyone is welcome to experience the work in a tactile way.
“I liked the concept of this show and the challenge of creating the art,” says Marla, who made five panels of raised swirls and wavy patterns perfect for running your fingers over. “We are so programmed to not touch.”
Marla, who teaches a class for teens at the Casselberry Art House, took her students on a field trip across the street to the Sculpture House to check out the reVision show.
“We went through with our eyes closed and felt everything and then went back through and looked at the art and discussed it,” says Marla, who feels a strong sense of compassion for those with vision loss. “I appreciate my sight, and I’ve often thought, ‘What would you do if you went blind?’”
Lighthouse Central Florida, a private, nonprofit agency that assists people with vision loss, was instrumental in helping the Florida Sculptors Guild make the exhibit accessible to its target audience. That included training FSG artists to serve as guides for their blind and visually impaired guests.
Tom Babcock, who lost his vision as an adult, and Libby Smith, a visually impaired artist whose limited sight is rapidly deteriorating, have both visited the exhibit. They agree that the show is a joy to experience, noting that blind people are far too often relegated to being a forgotten segment of society.
“To have something specifically for the blind means a lot,” says Libby, who is transitioning from being a painter to a sculptor because of the severity of her vision loss. “Everybody there was beyond helpful and kind. I appreciated that so much.”
Tom is a client at Lighthouse and serves on the board of the Greater Orlando Council of the Blind (GOCB), a membership organization of blind and visually impaired people.
“Being blind, I never thought that I would ever go into an art gallery again,” says Tom, adding that he’d never been to a venue specifically for sculptures – even when he was sighted. “It was really fun to feel the different materials and try to guess what they were. I correctly guessed quite a few of them just by touching. It was amazing and interesting, and I was just excited to be there.”
Mindy, who specializes in creating equine-themed art, says she is honored to have a sculpture in the reVision show. Her piece is a horse sculpted from clay, with a soft mane and tail of polyester material and raised designs of a butterfly, bird, flowers, and vines on the horse’s sides.
“Most art shouldn’t be touched, and I know that can be frustrating for many viewers, especially children,” Mindy says. “But as a sculptor, I have always felt there should be some art that can be interacted with by the public.”