Visually Impaired Artists

I began my research into artists that were visually impaired to gain inspiration for making my own visual impairment visible within my work. 

John Bramblitt

John Bramblitt, lost his vision in 2001 because of complexities with depression and epilepsy. This made the artist fall into further depression from being visually disconnected from the world that surrounded him. This permanent disconnection from the world has allowed him to become more expressive within his painting from his experiences of this almost new world. The artist capture both memories from the past of a time he once could see and this new world of seeing with other senses. Within recent pieces the artist has created life-like paintings of individuals he hasn't been able to visually see. 

Bramblitt was able to paint these vivid, textured painting by learning to recognise the variety of different coloured acrylic paints through their unique textures. Furthermore, he used his sense of touch to enable him to visualise his work, this naturally made him more expressive within his work. 

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/these-paintings-were-created-by-a-blind-man-10127807.html

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

Rembrandt was born in Leiden, Netherlands in 1606. At the age of 14, Rembrandt began attending the University of Leiden, however he did not find a academic life satisfied him. He later begin an apprenticeship as a painter. It has recently been acknowledged that Rembrandt might have been stereo blind, due to hints within his work. Rembrandt is famously known for his observations, such as "The Night Watch". Hazard University conducted a research into Rembrandt's vision further by analysing his work. The team wondered if the gaze angle of the eyes in Rembrandt’s self-portraits was random or whether the gaze deviation was systematic, as it would be if he were accurately portraying a feature of his personal facial feature. They found a recurring pattern of one eye looking directly towards to the viewer and the other usually drift laterally. 

http://livingstone.med.harvard.edu/MSL%20publications/2004_September16.%20Livingstone_Conway.%20Was%20Rembrandt%20Stereoblind_.pdf

Flóra Borsi 

Flóra Borsi is a Hungarian photographer. She is mostly known for her use of photo manipulation to produce surreal style images that are focused on relationships, emotions and dreams. Her work occasionally presents the female body and shows experimentation with revealing the face or eyes, thematically suggesting the exploration of the representation of females. 

Her latest project, Animeyed featured animals superimposed over self-portrait photography, to create the idea that both the beings are sharing one. 

http://www.boredpanda.com/artist-becomes-one-with-animals-by-replacing-her-eye-with-theirs/