Facial Vision is an art show that premiered July 9, 2006 at the Creole Gallery in Lansing, MI. I am a dinosaur black and white photographer who shoots with available light and prints on fiber based paper. I photographed 28 people who are blind in the Lansing area and had all of the portraits reproduced in tactile graphics. Viewplus generously participated by supplying several Tiger emprint and embosser prints in ink and without ink. The portraits were a big hit during the show. People were able to identify most facial features. Frankly, what was most rewarding was people identifying features that sighted people take for granted. For example, people were surprised to learn that someone had long or short hair, or was bald, or had facial hair, or wore glasses. Most people who are blind do not know what their blind friends look like. So, just to get any information was rewarding. Some people who once had sight and then lost it were thrilled to see their own pictures and would say, “I’ve haven’t seen myself in ten years.” In general, braille readers were extremely comfortable with the braille type technology. The inked pieces were enjoyed by people who had high partial vision. People learned that if a simple black and white photograph can be reproduced by the Tiger Braille Printers there are many unexplored applications that really should be explored. I’m delighted that Viewplus chose to participate in this first of a kind art show.
Delivering Sense Ability