April 30, 2018 - 16:27
I'm so grateful for every minute I was able to spend at CCW and for its art-studio applications of our disability theory discussions. CCW was eye-opening for me in many ways, but most striking to me was realizing it was a space for the celebration and creativity of artists who are not typically celebrated as such outside of the studio. (Let alone celebrated without any mention of 'despite' or 'outsider'.)
Between our talks on Neurodiversity, Institutionalization, Disability aesthetic, 'Outsider' art, Deafness, and BioEthics, I learned how to distinguish perceptions of disability, and how the disabled experience intersects with race, gender, sexuality, and other identities. Personally, Eli Clare and Rosemary Garland Thomson were my two favorite writers, their prose and rhetoric most jarring to me. I didn't realize there was a disability 'pride movement', nor was I aware of the full range of discrimination against Autistic people. In fact, I barely knew how to articulate my own experience, as I was still learning how to navigate the boundaries of disability language and appropriate terminology concerning disabled bodies.
So with all these unheard-of concepts fogging my mind, I went into my work with artist Kelly Brown with a lot of anxiety. I was afraid of messing up many things, but particularly communicating via tactile ASL (which I'd never used before) - and worried that I'd come across as patronizing, standoffish, or just plain rude. But my actual experience working with her (alongside Rory and Tessa, who were amazing partners) was incredibly enjoyable and rewarding. There was occasional awkwardness as we learned how to improve our touch-signing, but once those kinks had smoothed out, we started having a lot of casual conversations without the help of her aides. Sometimes she liked to feel our jewelry and could easily tell us apart based on our accessories. During her Haverford visits, we toured her through VCAM and other spaces, and enjoyed leisurely walks around each space, hands and fingers at the ready.
I also learned a lot from her about weaving, yarn, and the textile arts. As a visual artist heavily accustomed to painting and drawing, I felt as if I had to unlearn all my studio art skills and start learning 'Art' from scratch all over again! Kelly's pieces, while colorful and pleasing to the eye, must nonetheless be experienced via touch. She incorporates so many complex patterns, styles, and types of thread into her artworks that I wish I had hours to spend just touching one of them. All the more reason why I'm very excited for our exhibit this upcoming week, and how awesome it will be for both classes to experience Kelly's beautiful woven tapestries.
Fiona