Through April 17, 2008, Lamar University in Texas will showcase an innovative art exhibit called “Deaf Artists in the Community and Schools” that was five years in the making. The 40 pieces of art showcased range from realistic to abstract and express certain elements of deaf culture, including sign language, the joys of deaf bonding, communication breakdowns, the discovery of language, community, and the history of deaf people. Paintings, graphic art, and even wooden gourds are among the pieces.
At a panel discussion about the project, Jean Andrews, professor of deaf studies and deaf education at Lamar University said, “Artists typically work in isolation. This exhibit provides a forum for deaf artists to discuss their work with each other as well as discuss deaf art with an audience from the university and local community, including the deaf community. It will also involve K-12 students—both deaf and hearing—viewing the work.”
That’s right, even the American Sign Language (ASL)-impaired can enjoy all of the elements included in the series. Lamar interpreter-coordinator Brenda Mendoza has worked hard to ensure that each element of this truly collaborative project leaves no interested person behind.
Visitors can watch, listen, read text, or see ASL so that everyone is accommodated. Each panelist is projected on a screen so everyone can see them signing. Voice interpreters will interpret signing into spoken language for the hearing/speaking community, and a screen will provide a closed captioning-type experience.
The panel discussion is one of three components of the Deaf Artists in the Community and Schools project. Another part of the project is presentations during which the artists involved discuss their works with the varied members of the audience. This is intended to give the public the chance to learn and ask questions about what it’s like to be a deaf artist using visual art to share an experience with the world. DVD production is the third component, and perhaps has the most far-reaching educational implications of all of the showcase’s elements.
“We’re going to videotape the panel discussion, and our artists are also going to talk about their work in interviews with us,” Andrews said. The footage will be edited into a documentary that includes the exhibits and speeches. The resulting DVD will then be shared, at no charge, with 60 schools for the deaf and 1,000 mainstream programs for their art education curriculum. Following the exhibition, the organizers also hope to share some professional writing about the exhibit to add to the world’s understanding of deaf artists.
The exhibit is presented in part thanks to a $9,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), along with money from Lamar University (Beaumont, TX). Andrews, along with Lamar University’s Dishman Art Museum Director, Lynne Lokensgard, say they applied for the NEA grant the first time two years ago and have been rejected twice before this most recent success.
Lamar University will present “Deaf Artists in the Community and Schools” in the lower gallery of the Dishman Art Museum. Admission is free. For more information please call (409) 880-8141.
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