The Blind Side of Art: Visual Impairment as a Resource in the Work of Mexican Artists

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8069.18.3.07

Keywords:

disability studies, art, Mexico, resource, visual impairment

Abstract

Disability studies is a dynamically developing discipline; however, it usually focuses on the Anglophone world. Scholars representing this field often concentrate on deconstructing popular stereotypes and revealing hidden systemic discrimination. Although more and more initiatives are taken up – such as disability pride – it seems that an affirmative approach to disability remains in the minority. This article is a proposal for going beyond the mentioned schemes. Entering the area of the Latin American culture, I try to verify whether the findings of disability studies can be confirmed there. Proposing the interpretation of dis-ability in terms of resource, I want to broaden the affirmative perspective on disability.

This paper aims at a critical reflection on the creative potential of visual impairment used by blind and low-vision Mexican artists in the creative process. Driving upon the research conducted between 2020 and 2022, I argue that they use their visual impairment as a resource in their artistic activity. I distinguish four aspects of the functioning of visual impairment as a resource in artistic work: inspiration, representation, non-ocularcentric imagination, and accessibility.

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Author Biography

Monika Dubiel, University of Warsaw

Holds Master degrees from University of Warsaw in Psychology and Spanish Philology, both obtained within the College of Inter-area Individual Studies in the Humanities. Currently, she is a PhD student at the Faculty of Artes Liberales at the University of Warsaw. Her scientific interests include cultural studies and disability studies with a special focus on the topic of disability in the culture of Latin America. Additionally, she is also interested in the themes of the accessibility of culture for people with disabilities as well as activism of people with disabilities.

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Published

2022-08-31

How to Cite

Dubiel, M. (2022). The Blind Side of Art: Visual Impairment as a Resource in the Work of Mexican Artists. Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej, 18(3), 120–137. https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8069.18.3.07

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