photo courtesy of yahoo images

 

This is a gallery to showcase the wonderful visual artist out there that make beautiful art with the different-abilities, such as being Deaf, being blind, having mental illness and so on. It is located in the heart of uptown Yucaipa. We recently obtained a new building on the corner of Third and Fourth Streets on Yucaipa Boulevard   I run the gallery with my cousin Sarah who is Deaf and mentally delayed.

We Can Too!!!

In this exhibit titled "We Can Too!!!" I am showcasing the work of the artist listed below...

*Susan Dupor

* Michael Monaco

*Stephen Wiltshire

* Granville Redmond

*Chuck Braid

* Betty G. Miller

*Ann Silver

*Keith Salmon

*Christophe Pillault

*Ping Lian Yeak

The theme of this exhibit is to show that artist lacking in one area of their life can be exceptional in another area. I choose these artist because I believe they have over come great odds to produce their work and can be held on the same levels as other artist who have the use of every sense. Many of the artist are blind or deaf and some have mental illness, they did not let this stop them in feeling the passion and expressing it through visual art. Please take a minute to have a look at what these artist have to offer. It is amazing.

Susan Dupor

 

 

 

Transportation Hub
Oil on Masonite Diptych
1995
10 1/2" x 8 1/2"



Susan Dupor  currently lives in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. She was born deaf. all of her siblings are hearing. She went to a mainstream school. After that she attended Rochester Institute and then transferred to Art Institute of Chicago. She earned her BFA. She knew from an early age she like the arts. According to the Deaf studies Artworks web page She also earned a Masters in Deaf and Art Education.

        Below is a quote she gives about this piece. I know it is long, but I thought it was important to get the entire story behind it and the only way to do that was to quote her entire statement.

"This diptych is an analogy of prostitutes and ABC card peddlers who are often seen in metropolitan areas.  When I was living in Chicago, I traveled around the city by public transportation and would occasionally encounter a peddler trying to sell ABC cards to the passengers.  It made me uncomfortable because many other Deaf people were trying hard to prove themselves as equals to hearing people in the hearing world. At the same time the painting is a reminder that there is a social issue that needs to be addressed." -Susan Dupor

 

"This diptych is an analogy of prostitutes and ABC card peddlers who are often seen in metropolitan areas.  When I was living in Chicago, I traveled around the city by public transportation and would occasionally encounter a peddler trying to sell ABC cards to the passengers.  It made me uncomfortable because many other Deaf people were trying hard to prove themselves as equals to hearing people in the hearing world. At the same time the painting is a reminder that there is a social issue that needs to be addressed."
-Susan Dupor

Michael Monaco

White Hibiscus

Oil on Canvas

20" x 20"

Michael Monaco is a man who is a quadriplegic who does all his paintings with his mouth. He was injured in an accident at the age of 16 on November 30, 1979. He was a teenager in New Jersey and was out one night with his friends and was in a car accident and became paralyzed according to biography page on the web. I watched a video on YouTube with a reporter interviewing Michael, he explained the way he paints. All his paintings are done with holding the brush in his mouth. The pieces look as though he painted it with his hands because they are so advanced and detailed looking, but it is all done with his mouth. I choose this artist because he has such a positive outlook on life and has not let his obstacles stop him from creating beautiful art.

 

 

 

"As funny as it sounds I am so use to having a brush in my mouth I would have no idea what to do with my hands."

-Michael Monaco

Stephen Wiltshire

" Big Ben on a rainy evening in London"

Pen and Ink and Pastels on Paper

420mm x 594mm

June 9, 2008

 

 

Stephen was born on April 24, 1974 in London. He is a British Architectural artist. He was mute in his early years of childhood and at age three was diagnosed with Autism, according to his bio page (the site can be found below) he went to Queensmill school where he expressed his interest in the arts. Art became a way for Stephen to express himself and help him communicate his feelings that he could not verbalize. In 2006 he became a member of the Order of the British Empire for his art. He was also featured in a documentary called Beautiful Minds: A voyage into the Brain. I choose this piece because it shows that people with Autism that can not speak do still have ways of communicating, the communication just takes a different pathway.

 

A quote from Stephen's sister Annette in Forbes magazine online gives an insight just how powerful art is for Stephen.

 

“Taking art from a hobby to a career was never a decision or a choice for Stephen."

- Annette Wiltshire

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Wiltshire

Granville Redmond

 

                                                                Malibu Coast Spring
                                                                          c. 1929
                                                                        20" x 25"
                                                                      oil on canvas

Granville Redmond was born March 9, 1871 in Philadelphia, Pa. He was born hearing and around the age of 2 1/2 and 3 he contracted Scarlet Fever and upon recovery he was found to be deaf. He and his family moved to San Jose with hope to get him in the School for the deaf Berkeley. He was accepted, graduated from there and went to study art abroad in Paris. His first piece was displayed in the Paris Salon. After his study was done in Paris he moved to Los Angeles, where he became friends with the silent movie icon, Charlie Chaplin. Charlie was an avid collector of Redmond's art work and provided him with a studio to create and store his paintings on the movie lot. Redmond usually painted landscapes along the California coast between LaJolla Beach and Monterey. He died on May 24, 1935. All of this information was found on Granville Redmond's website. he connects to the theme of this exhibition because he was deaf and what I can observe he has a unique way with colors in his paintings.

It is impossible for artists to succeed in art unless they work with thought and true insight…one must as he paints on a canvas try and put his soul into the work.
~Granville Redmond

Chuck Braid

 

 

 

Art No. 2, 1994. Acrylic Paints 24" x 30"   According to the website www.deafart.org Chuck Braid was in 1948 deaf in Kansas. He attended the School for the Deaf in Kansas. He was educated in art from Grace Bilger, a famous watercolorist. He earned a BFA from Gallaudet University . His first exhibition was at the World Federation of Deaf Conference in Washington DC in 1975. He now lives in Phoenix Arizona with his wife Claudia and their pets. "The Deaf theme in my work relates to my own experiences as a deaf human being: my genre is De'Via"                                                    - Chuck Braid



 

Betty G. Miller

 

"Ameslan Prohibited"
  1972, ink on paper, 20" x 18"
Betty G. Miller was born in Chicago, she was a the third child and the only daughter. She was born Hard of Hearing. Here parents and two brothers were deaf, two other brothers were hearing. In the 1950's after several high fevers betty lost her hearing completely. She worked with other deaf people that had drug and alcohol abuse problems according to her obituary. (the link can be found below). She became known as the "Mother of DeVia" a style of art in the Deaf community. Besides being an artist she accomplished other great things. She because a professor Gallaudet University, she was the first woman to graduate from there as well. She also became the first woman to earn a Ed.D in the arts from Penn state University. i choose Betty because I thought her art was powerful and sent a message in most of her pieces. she connects to the theme because her deafness comes through in all the pieces she makes. She died December 3, 2012 from sepsis. 


"Much of my work depicts the Deaf Experience expressed in the most appropriate form of communication: visual art..."
-Betty G. Miller

http://bettigee.purple-swirl.com/

Ann Silver

Deaf Identy crayons:The and Now
1999
Mixed Media
20" x 16"

Ann Silver was born deaf in Seattle, Washington. She received a BA from Galluadet in Commercial art. she does all different types of art, from posters, greeting cards, graphic design to name a few. I choose her for this exhibit because I liked her work. She reminds me a little of Andy Warhol in the way she uses every day items and makes them interesting. Below you will find a quote in which she is giving her take on the piece above.



 

"Centuries ago we were a box of crayons, not human beings. Because pathological, medical and audiological viewpoints have prevented us from being seen in a linguistic-cultural context, archaic labels have been embedded in our language and literature—some of which still exist in this day and age." -Ann Silver

 

 

 
 

Keith Salmon

 

 

Snow, Rock and Water, Haris May
graphite on paper
2013
70 x 70cm


Keith Salmon is a blind artist. Born on December 9 1959. In 1989 his sight started to fade. He is legally blind but can still see a little. A little before this he earned his BA in Art at a college in England. he is an avid rock climber despite the fact that he is blind. Most of his paintings are from his walks in the Highlands in Scotland.   In 2009 he won the Jolomo award for Scottish landscape painting, according to The Amazing Art of disabled Artist website. I choose this artist because his paintings were so unique. This is just one, I would have liked to show many of his works. They intrigue me because for a second it looks abstract, then when I looked closer I realized it was a scenery piece. I think his take on what he sees is great and gives me a different look at nature.

"I hope that you, can connect with these paintings, and have as much fun viewing them as I had painting them."
-Keith Salmon

http://www.keithsalmon.org/about-keith-salmon/
 

Christophe Pillault

 

 

Imaginaire

Acrylic on Canvas

20.75" x 28.75"

1996

 

Pillault was born in 1982 in Iran. he is a savant and needs assistance in doing simple task such as walking or feeding himself, but he does excel in art. He started painting in 1993 when his teacher discovered his wonderful ability to paint. He is unable to speak, but does communicate through his paintings. I choose this artist because it is so wonderful to see what someone that utilize a different part of the brain can create. All of the info was found on the Henry Gregg Gallery page.

 

"Christophe Pillault: A remarkable artist"

-Henry Gregg



Ping Lian Yeak

 

 

10001 Sydney
Watercolor
60 x 102"
2009

Ping Lian was born Nov. 8, 1993. He is a child who is a savant. A savant is someone who suffers from social problems, usually can not perform some tasks such as getting dressed, preparing their own meals, etc with the help of another person, but are incredibly gifted in other areas to the level of genius in that area. Ping Lian was born in Malaysia and now lives in Austrila. His work is sold all over the world according to his page Savant Artist: Ping Lian Yeak

"Well done Ping Lian! For someone his age this is remarkable."
-Lee Yen





Conclusion

Through this process I have learned that the task of putting together an exhibition and organizing is really hard. It is hard to find the artist, accurate and info on the artist. The most challenging part for me was coming up with the idea of what the gallery was to be about. The easiest and most fun for my was looking at all the different pieces by different artist. I listed 10, but looked at probably a hundred. I really enjoy looking at art and so this was the part I really could appreciate.

 

As for how I feel about the job as curator, it is a job that I don't want to have. I like to look at the art, but not be the one to put everything together and gather all the information. One has to be incredibility organized and dedicated to have this job I would imagine. I discovered that when I picked the theme there were more artist in that category then I thought there was going to be. I thought it might be hard to do, but wanted to give it a shot anyways. It wasn't as hard to find the artist as I thought it would be. The part that was hard was unexpected because the hard part was getting all of the information and images together the way the information needed to be.