Citation: Motley, A. (2016, May 11). Deaf Artists -- Past and Present. ASL University. Retrieved from http://Lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/deaf-artists-past-and-present.htm
By Amber Motley
5/11/2016
Deaf Artists -- Past and Present
Art has always been a way to show how an artist sees the world, and it can take
many different forms -- some people paint or sculpt, while others use performance
to convey a message. Art is a personal experience that anyone at any skill level
can use to express themselves, so it comes as no surprise that the Deaf and hard
of hearing are active participants in the art world. Some Deaf artists share
their perspective of the world, focusing on their deafness, while others create
for any number of reasons. The same is true for any artist: one may focus on one
aspect of life that is very important to them, but they have the option to
create content about any subject they want to.
A manifesto exists specifically for Deaf Culture Art, called the De'VIA
Manifesto, or Deaf View/Image Art. Deaf artists who create work that
specifically refers to Deaf Culture can be considered De'VIA artists. A notable
contemporary artist of this sort is Christine Sun Kim, who has drawn a
connection between American Sign Language and music -- quite literally! She sees
ASL as "visual music," and shows that the Deaf experience sound in their own way
(Kim, 2015). Using musical staffs and sweeping lines, Kim elegantly shows the
relationship that music and ASL can have.
Deaf artists have been around for centuries, though they often do not get the
recognition they deserve. For example, the "first deaf person in history known
by name," Quintus Pedius, was a talented Roman painter in the 1st century AD
(Harrington, 2006). Another notable example is Juan Fernández Navarrete, also
known as "El Mudo," or "The Mute." Navarrete was a deaf Spanish painter who used
art at an early age to express his needs (Lang, 1995). Francisco Goya, a highly
successful and influential modern painter in the 18th century was left deaf
after an illness in 1792, which had an impact on his artistic style of painting.
Often times information such as this is not discussed in art history courses,
but it's clear that it has an effect on the artist and their work.
In more recent times, forms of animation have become popular, both traditional
2D as well as 3D. One might wonder if the Deaf are involved in this category,
and the answer is of course they are! Some notable examples of Deaf animators
include Mark Fisher (first successful Deaf animator), Gino Giudice (worked on
Flintstones), and Michael Freeman (3D animator). Many Deaf animators use
animation to create entertainment for other deaf people by animating characters
using ASL. Hands are one of the most troublesome subjects for many artists to
render accurately, let alone animate a language based on hand movements, so it
takes great skill to be able to do this!
Contemporary Deaf artists not only work in animation, but in all other forms of
art as well. Chuck Baird, one of the founders of De'VIA, was a painter, actor,
and sculptor (Murad, 2012). Tracey Salaway, specializing in digital arts and
filmmaking, has been "a professor at Gallaudet University Art Department since
1997" (Salaway, 2010). It's clear that the range of Deaf artists stretches far
and wide, and covers a variety of mediums as well as messages.
While numerous Deaf artists exist, they often are not well-known in the general
art world, which is unfortunate because they are contributing to the world and
have things to say that are just as important as any other artist's message.
Deaf artists in history are only recently gaining recognition for their work,
and while it's a step in the right direction, there is still much to be done by
way of appreciating the Deaf and their contributions, artistic or otherwise.
References:
Durr, Patti. (n.d.). Mark Fisher. Rit.edu. Retrieved 5 May 2016: <http://www.rit.edu/~w-dada/paddhd/publicDA/main/artists/MarkFisher/index.htm>.
Harrington, Tom. (September 2006). Frequently Asked Questions: Earliest Known
Deaf People (to 1700 AD). Gallaudet University Library. Gallaudet University.
Retrieved 5 May 2016: <http://web.archive.org/web/20071012084125/http://library.gallaudet.edu/deaf-faq-earliest-deaf.shtml>.
Kim, Christine Sun. "The Enchanting Music of Sign Language." TED Fellows Retreat
2015. Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, CA. August 2015. Conference
Presentation.
Lang, Harry G., and Bonnie Meath-Lang. (1995). Deaf Persons in the Arts and
Sciences: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing
Group.
Miller, Betty G. (1989). The De'VIA Manifesto.
Murad, Susan. (2012). Chuck Baird, Noted Artist and RIT/NTID Alumnus, Dies.
Rit.edu. Retrieved 5 May 2016: <http://www.ntid.rit.edu/news/chuck-baird-noted-artist-and-ritntid-alumnus-dies>.
Also see:
► Deaf
Artists
► Deaf
Art and Entertainment
► Deaf
Artists -- Past and Present
► Artistic Signing