The Process of Aesthetic Appreciation of Sculpture Through Touch

An Analysis Based on the Verbal Protocol of Observers with Visual Impairment

Abstract

This paper explores the process of art appreciation of sculpture through touch by the visually impaired. Focusing on the condition of non-seeing, namely “seeing with the hands,” this research aims to identify a model of aesthetic process through touch. During this study, three blind adults with significant tactile and art experiences were selected as participants. During their appreciation, “speech loud method” was implemented and the participants’ protocol was coded and analyzed. Through “seeing with the hands,” all three participants created a mental image while simultaneously capturing the sculpture’s most delicate tactile characteristics. From a temporal perspective, we found that participants first concentrated on observation to create a mental image, followed by a review of the work to check the image, which gave participants a foundation for proceeding to formal analysis. Finally this process was coupled with the message sensed from the piece along with the participant’s own experience/emotions, to construct the meaning of the work. In conclusion, our research revealed that the aesthetic process through touch involves five stages: perception; classification; identification; review and analysis; and finally, interpretation and evaluation.