Monet, Degas and Van Gogh all had eyesight problems which prevented them from seeing clearly. But far from holding them back, their visual challenges made for even richer art. It seems that painting when you don't see very well can sometimes reveal a real gift.
Perhaps the most well known blind person was Helen Adams Keller (fig. 1), (June 27, 1880 - June 1, 1968), an American author, political activist, and lecturer. Helen Keller was the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree. A prolific author, Keller was well-traveled and outspoken in her convictions.
John Bramblitt is an American blind painter and first blind muralist. Eşref Armağan is a Turkish artist born without eyes. Keith Salmon is a visually impaired artist working in Ayrshire, Scotland.
But then scientists became aware of a Turkish artist named Esref Armagan. Born totally blind, Armagan has no direct visual experience. Yet he paints and draws using not only colour, but also shadow, light and perspective in his unique imaginative scenes. So how did Armagan learn about colour?
Mary Cassatt – Symbol of impressionism, Mary Cassatt is a famous blind painter who lived between 1844-1926. She was born in Pennsylvania but mostly lived in France. Since women were not allowed to study in the art schools in France, she found private painters to help improve her painting skill.
Peter Milton was a painter when he was diagnosed with colorblindness.
Vincent van Gogh - Portrait of a One-Eyed Man - Van Gogh Museum.
Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968): Helen Adams Keller was an American author, activist and lecturer. She was the first deaf/blind person to graduate from college.
Mary Dignan was born with moderate to severe hearing loss, but her deafness was not diagnosed until she was almost 5 years old, after she had been diagnosed as having a cognitive disability. A routine eye test for reading glasses during her college years revealed the onset of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) symptoms.
Although their visual dream content is reduced, other senses are enhanced in dreams of the blind. A dreaming blind person experiences more sensations of sound, touch, taste, and smell than sighted people do. Blind people are also more likely to have certain types of dreams than sighted people.
They may wear sunglasses to protect against UV light, to shield their eyes from bright light, or for aesthetic purposes. Additional reasons blind people sometimes wear sunglasses include maximizing their vision, protecting against injuries, and communicating their blindness to others.
Rachael Leahcar – Australian pop singer and songwriter, born with retinitis pigmentosa and is legally blind. Blind Willie McTell – Blues guitarist. Raul Midón – Singer-songwriter. Ronnie Milsap – Country and pop singer.
Although they may need certain modifications to fully access digital video content, many blind and visually impaired people enjoy TV and movies just like everyone else.
As a result, the new title holder is 118-year old Lucile Randon, a French nun. Sister Andre, as she is known, is blind. She resides in a nursing home in the Mediterranean city of Toulon.
Aside from his suspected colour blindness, visual experts have also discussed that possibility that Van Gogh had glaucoma. This is because of the halos he often painted around lights, a common characteristic of his work, especially during night scenes.
Stevie Wonder - real name Steveland Hardaway Judkins - was born six weeks premature on May 13 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan.
In a 2006 interview, Bill Gates revealed that he is color-blind.
Some famous people who are considered 'colour blind': Mark Zuckerberg - Founder of Facebook. Bill Clinton - 42nd president of the United States. Jamie Oliver - Celebrity chef.
It is estimated there are over 575,000 people who are blind or vision impaired currently living in Australia, with more than 70 per cent over the age of 65 and over 66,000 people who are blind.
Humans are blind for about 40 minutes per day because of Saccadic masking—the body's way of reducing motion blur as objects and eyes move. An eye care provider conducts a thorough eye exam to ensure that these components are functioning well together.
The white cane is a long cane that helps someone with low vision or vision loss navigate and avoid obstacles on the road. It is their visual aid that helps identify dents, platform edges, steps, uneven surfaces.