Rolling Abstract - rev D

It was recommended in the OPD training session ' Getting Started with the literature review' to continue with a 'rolling abstract' throughout the PhD. Reviewing every three months, or so, and updating.
Rev D

Andrea McSwan _ PhD ABSTRACT – February 2020 – REV D

Abstract

How do art practitioners with blindness and sight-loss imagine and dream? How do they comprehend transparency, reflectivity or color? How does their visual impairment inform their artwork and methods of practice?

Whilst the sighted generally imagine people with blindness as inhabiting a black world, only a small percentage of people have total vision loss and many persons, with visual impairment, have some perception of light, shadow, movement and shape . As mental images can be generated without sight, the ability to see is not necessary for the creation of visual art.

This practice-based PhD project explores animation and virtual-reality (VR) to represent the creative practice and perceptual-experiences of artists with sight-loss. Using animated virtual-worlds and environments to enable sighted users to embody and understand another person’s perceptual experiences, this inductive research adopts an interpretive approach and incorporates the strength of case-study to compare abstract concepts of blindness to actual lived experiences.

Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted in the creative environments of three visually impaired professional artists, to capture, through their descriptive storytelling, a holistic understanding of their perceptions and methods of practice. The collective prize-winning visual art of these three case-studies, covers an international field of practice including exhibitions at the Tate Modern, 3D live drawing installations at London’s South Bank, panoramic ink drawings of zen gardens in Japan, bronze pouring and casting of singing bowls in Burma, transparent voile drawings of city-scapes, jewel-like studies of light and super-scale sculptures of braille.

Tentative findings at this early stage indicate commonalities between the artists in their experience of sight-loss, with colour palette changes of violet hues fading first and the actual process of losing sight involving vivid photo realistic hallucinations, kaleidoscope technicolour patterning and glittering patches of light, resembling static white noise. Through recall of memories and previous experiences, both imagination and dreams are in full colour and pictures.

The comprehension of spatial environments, both in terms of scale and nature may be informed through the focus of listening to external and internal activity including cars, trains, building works, people, rain and wind. When transitioning through environments, a new space may also be identified by temperature. Almost meditative in approach, the art of listening, as a focused activity is also used to identify the species of trees by the sound of the leaves when agitated by breeze. To determine recognition of others, both familiar and unknown, gait and movement were acknowledged as primary indicators to gauge mood, personality and demeanour.

Themes and responses will be evaluated by analysing the data gathered to inform and create an immersive animation, viewed and experienced in virtual reality. The final film output will incorporate documentary sound-tracks underpinned and informed by case-study and narrative enquiry and will be showcased and evaluated at participatory public engagement events.

Keywords

Virtual-Reality, Animation, Visual Impairment, Blindness, Perceptual Representation, Sensory