I was recently invited to attend the Taste Of Perkins 2012 at Perkins School For The Blind, a fundraising/food event that was a joyous and enlightening evening for all. After tasting dishes, sampling wines and chatting with friends (all of which I'll post about in detail later) I was invited to join some students and guests at a very special art exhibit that turned out to be my unexpected highlight of the night.
The art on display represented tactile versions of the works of well-known art masters. This, for instance, was a rendition of Andrew Wyeth's "Christina's World".
The tactile sensations were something I'd never experienced as guests were invited to close their eyes and use their hands and fingers to "see" the art. This was a particularly moving and emotional moment for me. One of the main characters in my novel "Filled With Nothing" is a blind teen who attends Perkins. In it, she teaches her friend, who has no visual impairment, how to "see" the sunset by sitting and feeling the warmth on their faces and clothes.
I was honored to be invited to Perkins as their special guest. Joining these beautiful students, as we ran our fingers gently across each canvas in total silence was an unforgettable experience.
It was also a chance to learn about contemporary artists like Liku Takahashi and Sunae Art, where grains of sand are carefully employed to create textures. In some forms even scents are used to convey feelings.
Pushing the bounds of conventional art was something that made me think in an entirely different way. As someone who has been lucky enough to visit many of the greatest art museums in the world, throughout both Europe and the U. S. A., I can honestly say that nothing ever affected me quite so much. Bravo Perkins.
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