[Nfb-history] {Spam?} {Disarmed} FW: History & Happenings: Artistic Vision

Fri May 20 06:13:28 UTC 2016

Hello Colleagues:

     I thought the following interesting.

Regards,

Robert

From: Perkins School for the Blind [mailto:supportperkins at perkins.org] 
Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2016 10:57 AM
To: Robert Jaquiss
Subject: History & Happenings: Artistic Vision

Visual arts at Perkins School for the Blind have played an important role for generations of students.
 <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=hN48EmDakhJxQXxDI2bnMg> View this email as a webpage.

 <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=gntTi3qNT6M13LT4lUwq1Q> Perkins School for the Blind

 May 2016 issue of History and Happenings. Colorful abstract drawing with the names of family and friends and text 'I love Perkins School.' <https://secure2.convio.net/psb/images/content/pagebuilder/fy16-history-and-happenings-may-outlook-header.jpg> 

May 2016

History & Happenings

Artistic Vision

As visitors walk through the halls at Perkins School for the Blind they are often drawn to the sounds of the chorus practicing in the chapel or a student playing piano in Dwight Hall. They may also be struck by the sight and texture of the brightly colored paintings and collages lining the walls of the Hilton and Howe buildings. The latter houses Perkins'  <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=2WLG7X0dPDoNAK1YJpE0yA> Secondary Program, while the former has been the home of the  <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=sx7y2ppZHbAXzmSH0tc-CA> Deafblind Program since the 1970s.

At first glance, art seems like a very visual medium. In fact, Perkins art teachers are frequently asked how they teach visual arts to students who are blind, deafblind or visually impaired.

One way is by giving students access to art. As early as 1889, Perkins students like  <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=DG4-fXdJy1E7Vo4C51vm4A> Helen Keller were invited to take "touch tours" at what was then the Boston Art Museum, today the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA). Keller was able to touch priceless works of antiquity (and in some cases, plaster casts of original art) including a Roman-era statue of Venus.

Keller wrote of her visit: "General Loring (superintendent of the museum) himself came in, and showed me some of the most beautiful statues, among which were the Venus of Medici, the Minerva of the Parthenon. Venus entranced me. She looked as if she had just risen from the foam of the sea, and her loveliness was like a strain of heavenly music."

Through the years, Perkins students have also been given hands-on opportunities to create their own artwork. The fact is that most art easily moves beyond the visual. Working with clay, making textural collages and incorporating scented materials are just a few of the many ways that teachers have made art accessible to students.

 A student who is deafblind models clay figures. <https://secure2.convio.net/psb/images/content/pagebuilder/fy16-history-and-happenings-may-image-001.jpg> 

Carol, a student in Perkins' Deafblind Program, models clay figures based on poses learned in dancing class circa 1964. Arts and crafts were an integral part of the curriculum in the Deafblind Program during the 1960s, and still are today.

During the 1960s, Perkins' Industrial Arts curriculum for Lower School students included finger painting, mosaic making and sponge painting, among other art experiences. Today, Perkins students of all ages and abilities take part in art-making activities—from painting with fruits and vegetables to creating award-winning mixed-media pieces.

"Art instills in the students a sense of self-esteem, and they enjoy being able to work with their hands to create something," explained art teacher Rocky Tomascoff. "In here, we're working on many of the same goals, skills and objectives that they are in other classes; it's just with different materials."

Since 2002 Perkins has partnered with Boston's MFA to organize regular  <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=1Ayn3ihMQgu5EK0Nvmi0ag> "Feeling for Form" tours for Perkins students. In 2011, artist Dale Chihuly, who is blind in one eye, gave Perkins students a personal touch tour of his "Through the Looking Glass" exhibition at the MFA.

And in 2014, students from  <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=TeM6NXMQFzHKb5qVv8D7WQ> Perkins Lower School traveled to the MFA for a special touch tour similar to the one Helen Keller enjoyed over 115 years ago. Wearing thin latex gloves, students were able to literally touch history—running their hands over an ornately carved burial sarcophagus and a Roman bust of a bald man.

Regardless of whether a student is blind, deafblind or visually impaired, visual arts play a critical role in building confidence, self-esteem and learning meaningful concepts and skills.

In addition to developing cognitive and physical skills, the process of creating art pushes students' limits, stretches their imaginations and gives them a chance for self-expression and another means of communication. It's no wonder then that art is everywhere at Perkins.

 <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=qpfDpd_GqGtRcjTCuTMZaw> Discover How Perkins Makes Art TangibleMaking Art Tangible 

 Photo of a needlework page with a horse from a bound volume of letters, writings, origami and sewing crafts completed by Tommy Stringer between 1896 and 1897. <https://secure2.convio.net/psb/images/content/pagebuilder/fy15-history-and-happenings-jun-sec2-then.jpg> 

 Photo of Perkins alumna, Amy Caliri, working on a needlepoint artwork. <https://secure2.convio.net/psb/images/content/pagebuilder/fy15-history-and-happenings-jun-sec2-now.jpg> 

Artistic Vision

Then & Now

On the left,In the top image, a needlework page featuring a horse from a  <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=F6eHh99ZEDHojnGa0JsFbw> bound volume of letters, writings, origami and sewing crafts completed by  <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=169xu4Xy_-GQbeRgQLqU5w> Tommy Stringer, a student at Perkins who was deafblind, between 1896 and 1897. In addition to origami and sewing, Tommy was also an exceptional woodworker—skills he learned as part of the sloyd curriculum then taught at Perkins.

On the right,In the bottom image,  <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=WrXbiaRmer6ZbBiGrjdILA> Perkins alumna Amy Caliri works in a studio creating a needlepoint artwork. Caliri, who is deaf with impaired vision, first came to Perkins School for the Blind as a preschooler, and then returned as a residential high school student. Today Caliri works in  <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=CubGtkZropI1JdGcu-F-Dg> Gateway Arts studio five days a week. A successful artist, Caliri is known and respected by collectors who buy her paintings and needlework for as much as $900.

Give the gift of a brighter future

Since 1829, Perkins School for the Blind has been committed to helping children and young adults who are blind, deafblind or visually impaired. Your gift today will fund the teachers, training and technology that help people with a visual impairment prepare for all of life's opportunities.

 <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=hKN9VNDHOkubIo2MLSb1pg> Donate now 

 A photograph of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan facing one another. Sullivan is wearing a dress with a high collar that flares at the shoulders. <https://secure2.convio.net/psb/images/content/pagebuilder/fy16-history-and-happenings-apr-archives.jpg> 

The Perkins Archives include collections related to the history of the education of the blind and deafblind, institutional archives, and correspondence of significant figures in the school's history, such as Helen Keller, Annie Sullivan and Samuel Gridley Howe.

To learn more about the Perkins Archives and sign up for their newsletter, visit  <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=sKPzB_YgzGmhj0kA9QBwiA> PerkinsArchives.org. 

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