“Au Naturale,” by Elena Santin.
Most artists don’t welcome gallery-goers to touch or listen to their art. But the five artists exhibiting at the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired are not typical; all of them have experienced vision loss.
The exhibit, which is part of MMoCA’s Gallery Night on Oct. 7, is also designed for those with vision loss in mind.
This year’s exhibit includes photography by Elena Santin and Mike Morris, ceramics by Judith Rasmussen, wood carvings by Don McCall and woodwork by George Wurtzel. The art is made accessible for attendees with vision loss through audio descriptions, by allowing patrons to touch art works and by placing art at eye level to be viewed more easily by people with limited vision.
Santin, a Madison high school student, was born blind with congenital glaucoma. Through surgery when she was an infant, she was able to gain some sight. She began drawing in preschool, using brightly colored markers because they were easier to see. “As I went through elementary school, it became an outlet for me — a way to relieve stress,” Santin says. Beginning in eighth grade, she took up photography. Her high-contrast nature images, shot through filters, are meant to evoke concern for the environment.
Wurtzel, who lives in Napa, California, was born blind. He has a background in architectural millwork and creates highly tactile art works, such as bowls and boxes. He chose to participate in the show, he says, “to show the world art is in your brain, not in your eyes.”
Morris was 38 when the effects of myopic macular degeneration began to affect his vision. That’s when he began exploring nature photography.
McCall began working with wood at a young age and continued woodworking in his early career as a carpenter in Madison. In 1983, an eye injury in a construction accident resulted in total blindness in McCall’s left eye; in 2007, a stroke left him with limited vision in his right eye. McCall’s carvings include songbirds, waterfowl, birds of prey, fish, caricatures and wind spirits. He obtains basswood from northern Wisconsin and makes platform bases from a variety of woods, including driftwood he picks on the Pacific Ocean shores when visiting family in Oregon.
The October 7 Gallery Night event begins at 5 p.m. at the offices of the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired, 754 Williamson St. Gallery talks from the artists begin at 6 p.m. The exhibit runs through Nov. 18.
