Sunny Kim - I sea, You sea

 Propeller Art Gallery Space Made More Accessible to the Visually Impaired 


Nancy Newton’s exhibition ‘From The Sea/ From The Past’ includes a collection of work which was heavily inspired by music, specifically R. Murray Shafer’s Dream e-scape, landscape and the sea. The dedication and exploration Nancy took over the course of 10 years with the song influenced her creation of many impressive pieces. 


For an interpretive plan project idea, I worked with what I saw and learned from the exhibition, my own past experiences, and thought about some future ideas to engage an audience -- specifically those who are visually impaired.


The interpretive project is separated into two parts: the physical space and the artwork. 


Artwork - 

Nancy was inspired by music and her surroundings. I thought it would be very interesting to explore this connection of place/space and music for someone who is visually impaired as some might be synesthetes. Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which information meant to stimulate one of your senses stimulates several of your senses. Auditory and tactile cues here, for example, can help low vision people to fully understand and "see" the object/piece in front of them. 


Auditory: Auditory description can come in different forms whether it is with the use of words, frequencies/wavelengths or specific sounds. I explored a program called Photosounder which creates sounds from images and visual representation from sounds. This helps a lot with setting the mood, and environment for the viewers' experience.  



Nancy Newton, Transcendence, Acrylic on Canvas


The picture above is the piece Transcendence put through the program which transforms it into sounds and frequencies. Very interestingly, the result depicts sounds of the sea, wind and crashing waves.

People could possibly not only listen to the description of what other people see, but fully immerse themselves into the work using this tool. 

Space:
The gallery space also comes into play when it comes to the full experience of a viewer/user. Not only the physical space but online accessibility/presence as well. For the visually impaired, it is important to get a grasp on their environment to fully understand what is going on. Tactile cues may be helpful whether they are directional or descriptive.


These are but suggested strategies whereby we, as interpretive planners, can creative engaging experiences for all of our viewers not just those with disabilities.

Popular posts from this blog

Catalina Bravo: Water through Abstract Lenses

Image
  Water through Abstract Lenses Catalino Bravo "Sea Shell Cradle" Acrylic on Canvas, Nancy Newton Nancy Newton's work FROM THE SEA / FROM THE PAST at the Propeller Art Gallery was very inspirational. Nancy talks about how nature and music inspired her to make all her work for her “From the Sea” mixed media pieces. As someone who was always by the water, whether it was the ocean, rivers, lakes, cascades, etc., I felt this viewing really connected me to my roots and my life.  Growing up in Chile, I was always surrounded by nature. This is something I miss so deeply.  I can see, from viewing Nancy’s work, how well she captures the rhythm and energy of the sea in her own terms. I have always thought that different bodies of water give different vibes and energies, which can be transformed and represented in many ways and forms in art. My own family has always been surrounded by art and I grew up being exposed to art. My dad and my grandmother are very artistically inclined....
Read more

Charlie Ball: Experiments in Sound --- Looking Deeper

Image
Nancy Newton’s From the Sea/From the Past : Experiments in Sound --- Looking Deeper As viewers of Newton’s exhibit at the Propeller Gallery, we were able to follow the artist's concept development and visualization in work that was produced over more than a decade.  In looking at the work in both the North and South galleries, we can see how the artist provides us, as viewers, with broad perspectives on her surroundings. We can see how sounds have an impact on how the artist interprets her surroundings and subject matter as well. It seems that when music is involved, images become more whimsical and magical. We see psychedelic colours and flowing lines, alongside other experimental qualities.                   Autumn Song , Mixed Media Drawing Easy Journey , Mixed Media Collage  R. Murray Schafer,  the composer of the musical work which first inspired Ms. Newton’s venture into...
Read more

Aisha Jaffar: Exploring Music

Image
Exploring Music  Nancy Newton’s latest exhibition at Propeller Gallery showcased two collections of her work; From The Sea, and From The Past . Newton, N, Flying Over.  [Mixed Media Collage, 23 x 32 inches] Propeller Gallery, Toronto, ON, Canada.  Nancy's work in From The Sea is inspired by Canadian musician R. Murray Schafer’s music. She spent 10 years exploring landscapes and making art inspired by how she felt by listening to his music.  To view more of her work from the exhibit you can visit this link to the Propeller Gallery website: https://propellerartgallery.com/exhibitions/from-the-sea-from-the-past-nancy-newton/   If you would like to get a deeper understanding of Nancy’s creative process, I have provided links to 3 songs by R. Murray Schafer - you can find more on his Spotify.  1. Dance of the Bull  https://open.spotify.com/track/3JbYdAzFokfYtGvNNjwcGe?si=46e6b6f62b0a4d5e 2. Isis & Nephthys  https://open.spotify.c...
Read more