TOUCHABLE PAINTINGS: MAKING ART ACCESSIBLE TO ALL

Collections Corner | Carly Hall

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Art is, obviously, a visual experience. Unfortunately, this excludes persons who are blind or visually-impaired from engaging with many of our art collections. Museums and art galleries have taken steps to be more accessible and inclusive by including audio aids for visitors and special access to their collection, inviting those who are blind or with poor vision to touch objects and sculptures. However, experiencing a painting is a completely different issue. One may be able to feel textures created by brush strokes or read/listen to a description of the piece, but “seeing” the work through touch is largely impossible.

I came across the Unseen Art Project for the first time on social media. According to the first article I read, Unseen Art sought to create tactile copies of famous artwork using 3-D printing. Spear headed by Marc Dillion, this project would open multiple doors for increased accessibility of art collections for the public. Particularly, the project targeted those who are blind and visually-impaired, a community which inspired Dillion to embark on this venture. Dillon’s ambition was that 3-D artists could upload famous works to a software platform which will be accessible to anyone wishing to download and print a 3-D version. Oh, and did I mention that the software and downloadable model would be free?

This assumes that individuals have access to a 3-D printer, which can be expensive. However, institutions could take full advantage of this software and create exhibitions of tactile paintings. Certainly, these exhibitions would appeal to everyone, especially those of us who long to reach out and touch things on display. In a 2016 interview with TechCrunch, Dillon stressed that these 3-D paintings could not include every single detail from the 2-D work: “there needs to be some depth of touch, and there needs to be some limitation to detail – a perspective on the art, or an impression of the art, for people to really understand it. If you took any typical painting…and you made the whole thing – every bit of detail in there – then people aren’t really going to get a lot out of it.” The first painting Unseen Art intended to make downloadable is Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Here is how Da Vinci’s most famous work would look in 3-D.

Source.

Source.

The wrench in this whole project is that Unseen Art has seemed to have lost traction. After briefly researching the company, I discovered the crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo is now closed (without meeting it’s flexible goal of $30,000.00), and the website domain has either expired (http://www.unseen-art.org), or doesn’t seem to exist at all (http://unseenart.org).

Perhaps I'm just late to the Unseen Art party. I'd like to think that the company joined another organization devoted to creating accessible museum and gallery experiences. Despite the possible end to Unseen Art, some institutions like the Museum of Madrid, have already begun temporarily displaying touchable replicas of famous artworks, using 3-D printing techniques to create a raised relief effect.

Goya, The Parasol. Source.

I hope Unseen Art will be able to continue their mission of accessibility to artwork, and that more institutions will incorporate these touchable paintings into their permanent collections. Personally, I like Dillon's vision for touchable paintings better, as it provides a truly 3-D experience/interpretation of a painting. I also agree with Dillon: works of art should be accessible to anyone. Clearly, establishing touchable paintings in our permanent collections is just one way institutions can create and enhance the experience of all museum and gallery visitors.