[TAGS] Tactile art and COVID-19

Thu Mar 12 18:36:21 UTC 2020

Yes, and several museums allow touching only with thin plastic 
gloves, which, for many folks works better than rubber surgical 
gloves.  Thin plastic gloves can slide over surfaces more smoothly, 
without as much drag or stiction as surgical Latex or Nitrile rubber gloves.
In my own work in my lapidary shop, grinding and cutting rocks, I 
prefer to use Nitrile gloves, as they last longer than Latex gloves.
However, and especially with surgical gloves, I find it extremely 
difficult to read braille while wearing rubber gloves.
Considering the issues of public health, news reports are indicating 
that gloves do not seem to do a lot to prevent spreading of germs, as 
the germs can survive for hours on common surfaces and be moved from 
surface to surface (including to  your mouth or eyes).
It can be easier to effectively decontaminate gloved hands, compared 
to decontaminating bare skin and fingernails of your hands.
Public health officials are now recommending decontaminating with 
either rubbing alcohol (60 percent or stronger), soap and water, or 
weak solutions of bleach.
For touchable art decontamination, these decontamination solutions 
could cause damage to the art surfaces and some adhesives or other 
underlaying materials.
When decontamination with these solutions is not possible, exposure 
with UV lights or direct sunlight might be helpful.  Note, they 
stress direct sunlight, as sunlight coming through glass windows has 
had most of its ultraviolet light blocked.
It would be nice, if we could get more advice from art museum staff 
folks who are more familiar with art decontamination and protection procedures.
Cordially,
Noel

At 10:15 AM 3/12/2020, Deborah Kent Stein via TAGS wrote:

>In the museums that permit blind visitors to touch artworks not generally
>available for tactile exploration by the public, it is standard practice for
>the blind visitor to wear surgical gloves. Although wearing gloves somewhat
>detracts from the tactile experience, it protects the art and also helps
>avoid the spread of germs. Wearing gloves is a simple precaution that can be
>taken with tactile exhibits during any outbreak of a contagious disease such
>as COVID-19.
>
>Debbie
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: TAGS [mailto:tags-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cheryl Fogle-Hatch
>via TAGS
>Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2020 11:49 AM
>To: Tactile Art and Tactile Graphics Specialist list <tags at nfbnet.org>
>Cc: Cheryl Fogle-Hatch <c.k.fogle at gmail.com>; mkolitsky at nextgenemedia.com
>Subject: Re: [TAGS] Tactile art and COVID-19
>
>Hi Mike, Keri, and everyone
>
>An exhibit on universal design that I'm consulting for was postponed, and
>several Maryland museums have suspended public programs through mid April.
>I've been watching traffic on museum listservs, and so far, I haven't seen
>anything specific to tactile art--just general concerns about limiting
>hand-to-hand contact. I think we, as a community of tactile artists etc,
>need to step into the conversation so our voices are found when someone
>searches, as you did.
>
>To that end, I'm thinking of writing a text (800-1,000 word blog post
>linking to supporting documents if necessary).  This would discuss the need
>to balance tactile access with health concerns--covid19, and for anything
>else that will arise in future. I would offer to host a piece on my new
>website, https://museumsenses.org and I might also explore possibilities
>with my connections to get onto an established museum blog.
>
>Keeping in mind that this listserv is publicly archived and searchable,
>please write me offlist if you'd like to contribute ideas and resources,
>and/or review a draft.  To join a timely conversation, I'd like to get a
>post online around mid April as museums resume public programming. The post
>should serve as a conversation starter and propose solutions, and show that
>that the community of tactile artists and enthusiasts are thinking about
>these issues.
>
>Best Wishes,
>Cheryl
>
>On 3/12/20, Mike Kolitsky via TAGS <tags at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> > Hi everyone, I just received news that an art show in NYC to which I
> > had some tactile art works accepted for entry was delayed due to the
> > COVID-19 pandemic and the need to think about bringing large groups of
> > people together.  That led to my thinking about how one can make
> > tactile art so that it can be touched safely, i.e., that each touch is
> > on a sterile or cleaned surface.  Can tactile art be sprayed with a
> > lysol-like cleanser between touching episodes or can art be designed
> > to be touched with surgical gloves?  Can Braille be read with surgical
> > gloves on the reader's hands?  I did a quick search on "tactile art
> > and COVID-19" and found that the Exploratorium in San Francisco has
>temporarily closed the "Tactile Dome".
> > Any thoughts about how to make art or objects for public touching safe
> > from passage of COVID-19 from one person to another?
> >
> > Mike
> >
> > Michael A. Kolitsky, Ph.D.
> > CEO
> > nextgenEmedia
> >
>
>
>--
>Cheryl Fogle-Hatch, Ph.D.
>Archaeologist and Museum Professional
>(443) 939-8217
>c.k.fogle at gmail.com
>https://www.linkedin.com/pub/cheryl-fogle-hatch/8/224/538
>https://cherylfogle.academia.edu/
>
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