Film over de expositie in Israel

http://weblog.zoom.nl/2007/02/13/visie-zonder-zicht/
http://www.theblindphotographer.com/

Een opmerkelijke fotogalerie is die van The Blind Photographer. Negen blinde Israëlische fotografen stellen op dit ogenblik hun werk tentoon in de Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in de Hebreeuwse universiteit van Jerusalem. Shinar en diens vriend fotograaf Kfir Sivan tonen het resultaat van hun workshops aan negen blinde hobbygenoten. Ze werden geïnspireerd door een soortgelijke jaarlijkse tentoonstelling in Tokio. “Wij associëren fotografie met licht, beeld en scherpstellen. Terwijl we hier ondervinden dat de camera geleid wordt door verbeelding, gevoel en de vier zintuigen die overblijven wanneer je het zicht moet missen.” De organisatoren willen bezoekers op die manier de belevingswereld van blinden laten ervaren. De twee initiatiefnemers begeleiden de groep op vrijwillige basis en leerden, door zichzelf te blinddoeken, technieken die ze later tijdens de workshops overbrachten. Er bestaan wereldwijd wel meer organisaties voor visueel gehandicapte fotografen, maar een expositie van blinden is uiterst zeldzaam. De fotogalerij toont soms personages en objecten die half of vanuit een ongewone hoek werden geschoten, maar toch ben ik danig onder de indruk van de poëzie van dit project.

Blind Photographers Show Work in Israel

By MARSHALL THOMPSON
The Associated Press
Friday, February 9, 2007; 5:46 AM

TEL AVIV, Israel -- Reaching above her dark glasses, Riki Fritsh held a compact camera to her forehead and snapped away at a group of passengers boarding a bus. Most of the travelers were caught off guard by the camera's flash. But they were even more surprised to learn that Fritsh is blind.

Fritsh is one of nine blind photographers featured in an exhibition at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.


An image that was featured in the 'Blind Photographers' exhibition in Jerusalem is seen in this photo made available Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007 by the Blind Photographer Workshop. Nine blind photographers participated in an exhibition at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Organizers said one of their goals is to let visitors see what it's like to be blind. (AP Photo/Ofer Nakar/HO)
An image that was featured in the 'Blind Photographers' exhibition in Jerusalem is seen in this photo made available Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007 by the Blind Photographer Workshop. Nine blind photographers participated in an exhibition at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Organizers said one of their goals is to let visitors see what it's like to be blind. (AP Photo/Ofer Nakar/HO) (Ofer Nakar - AP)
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"When people see the photos, they are proud of me," said Fritsh, 50, who has been completely blind since birth. "They can't believe that I took these pictures."

Organizers said one of their goals is to let visitors see what it's like to be blind.

"When we follow the things that they decide to shoot, it reveals their world to us," said Iris Shinar, one of the group's instructors.

Some of the photos in the exhibit are out of focus. Some don't show the subjects' faces, but all provide candid glimpses into the lives of the photographers.

One photo shows a darkened apartment and another shows the blurry image of the artist in an ornate mirror. A sultry woman _ the girlfriend of one of the photographers _ lounges on a couch. A 90-year-old grandmother takes a nap in the afternoon sun.

An annual exhibit of blind photographers in Tokyo inspired Shinar and fellow photographer Kfir Sivan to start their own program in Israel. They hope similar programs will start in other countries as well.

Several groups exist worldwide for partially blind and otherwise disabled photographers, but completely blind photography is still quite rare, said Shirley Britton of the Disabled Photographers Society in the United Kingdom.

"There seems to be a lot of people who are partially sighted," Britton said. "But I don't know if a completely blind person could really do photography."

Shinar and Sivan weren't sure how it would work either. Before the class started, they experimented by blindfolding themselves and taking pictures to see what would work. They discovered that holding the camera to the forehead, like a third eye, was the best way to stabilize and aim the camera.

They found volunteer participants from the Herzliya Center for the Blind, near Tel Aviv, and started teaching. Since last March, they have been teaching the group on a volunteer basis, providing the students with cameras, film and other supplies. The classes covered composition, fundamentals, and a history of photography, among other subjects. The results impressed even the instructors.

"Every week Riki brings me a roll and in every roll there are winning shots," Shinar said.

Since she started photographing people on her bus route Fritsh, 50, has become well-known and several people call out to her by name as they board. One bus passenger even asked her to be the official photographer for a party at a local nursing home.

"At first, it was a bit odd," said Shira Yehzkia, an 18-year-old passenger whose grandfather is also blind. "But I get really excited to see blind people do things that are not regular for them."

While some might be skeptical that a blind person can create visual art, professor Gerald Pryor, head of the photography department at New York University, said the concept makes sense.

"They see the world with their bodies," Pryor said. "They sense the world in a different way, and they can manifest that world in a photograph."

The art, however, doesn't just share the artists' world, Shinar said, it also helps the artists themselves connect to the people around them.

Shinar said some students like to document their travels and activities for their grandchildren. One woman photographed her Passover feast preparations for more than 30 family members.

The exhibit closed on Tuesday after a three-week run that attracted crowds of more than 400 people. Shinar said the class will continue.

"We can't stop now," she said. "We are like family."

Photography: A New Angle on Seeing

By Lin Fong

In a charming seaside town just north of Tel Aviv in Israel, a group of amateur photographers meet religiously once a week to compare their latest creations.

Their visual snapshots capture everything from the exquisite to the banal with elegance and simplicity -

quite astonishing given that the photographers are blind.

The paradoxical nature (some would even say sheer absurdity) of blind photography has not been lost on the project's creators Iris Shinar and Kfir Sivan. When they approached the country's Association for the Blind with their idea to start working with a small group, there were met with a welcoming but somewhat baffled response.

"The most important thing was to establish trust between us and the social workers because when you first hear about blind people taking pictures, it sounds like a gimmick, like a joke,'' Iris said.

"The blind people themselves were not skeptical at all. They appreciated very much that we trusted them to do it. They are not afraid of challenges.''

Iris and Kfir, both photographers with a strong social conscience, literally stumbled upon the idea on the Internet as they explored ways to contribute creatively to the community.

What they found was a fascinating account of blind photography in different parts of the world, including Japan where an exhibition of blind photography is sponsored by the emperor every year.

Intrigued, they decided to trial a program in Israel. In collaboration with The Association for the Blind, they began working with a small group of seven students. Some were blind from birth while others had developed the condition during their life.

Iris and Kfir began by teaching the students the basic history of art and photography before moving on to the mechanics of using a camera, including specially tailored techniques where they could use their hands to help measure the width of the lens.

The students were then equipped with instamatic cameras and films and assigned weekly tasks. The project started at the beginning of 2006 and has since expanded to 12 students, ranging from the ages of 20 up to 70.

Iris and Kfir had no idea what to expect from the photos initially, but the results were breathtaking. They quickly discovered that the students had particularly heightened senses and a natural intuitive ability to grasp spatial perspective. They also had a keen feeling for sound, light and heat.

For example, one student took a series of beautifully composed shots of a lush canopy of trees. When asked how he had framed the shots so precisely, he replied that he had heard the wind rustle the leaves in a certain way and felt the sun's rays.

"Photography gives the blind a kind of common language that connects them to people who see,'" Kfir said.

"It helps them create a dialogue with the rest of the world and makes them feel equal. Also it's a recognition of something that they've done that gives them pride.'"

They said the subjects the students chose to photograph were interesting, offering windows into their private lives and inner yearnings. They captured everything from friends and family, their homes and hobbies to environments they liked to visit.

Basically the photographs acted as a statement to the world that the students, though blind, were no different from others.

Iris and Kfir said the weekly photography classes were charged with high energy and constant surprises. Each session was being recorded on video to be presented at an exhibition of the students' photos, which they hoped to hold at the end of the year.

They said there were many misconceptions about blindness as a disability. People believed that the condition was disempowering and debilitating, but Iris and Kfir's experience with the group has taught them that the students fully participate in and embrace life.

They are so active. They do things I cannot believe," Kfir said.

Kfir said one of the students was expert in the delicate art of embroidery, while another cooked dinner for 20 people every week. The latter had chosen to photograph a series based on the theme of cooking couscous as an expression of pride in her culinary talents.

Another student had been recognized for her numerous volunteering activities and had even been her own photographer at the awards ceremony.

Iris said volunteering on the project had been a tremendous gift for her and Kfir.

"We feel that we gain more than we give. It has changed our perspective on disability," Iris said.

"You think about disability as the worst thing that can happen to you. We believe blind people have their problems, but they are alive, they don't give up. All of them laugh - they have a great sense of humour."

And does it concern the students that they can't see their own photos?

"It's enough for them when we tell them what's in the pictures because they use their imagination," Iris replied.

"That's why they don't want to photograph in black and white. They have a sense of colour. They imagine in colour."

For more information on the blind photography project contact Iris on irisshanar@walla.com

in a charming seaside town just north of Tel Aviv in Israel, a group of amateur photographers meet religiously once a week to compare their latest creations.

Their visual snapshots capture everything from the exquisite to the banal with elegance and simplicity -

For more information on the blind photography project contact Iris on irisshanar@walla.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAESnPNAOrE
Film over de expositie in Israel
A new exhibit curated by a graduate of Bezelel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem puts the camera in the hands of some of Israel's blind community.