How can the visually handicapped enjoy works of art? An immediate answer to this question is that they can touch three-dimensional works, such as sculptures and craft objects. Since Gallery TOM opened in Tokyo in 1984, this kind of approach has been spreading slowly but steadily in Japan. Today, many galleries and museums throughout Japan hold events for the visually handicapped and are improving their readiness to receive such people.
On the other hand, some visually handicapped people began to express their desire to “enjoy paintings and drawings, two-dimensional works, as well as three-dimensional works which can be touched”. In the middle of the 90's, the visually handicapped started working together with nonhandicapped people, organizing citizens' groups that try to enjoy paintings and drawings. Nonhandicapped members give information on the paintings and drawings to handicapped members. The handicapped members ask questions concerning the information they have heard. The handicapped and non-handicapped members discuss the works, and work together to create a common image of the works in the handicapped members' minds. In other words, this method mainly uses verbal communication to enjoy works of art. This method steps beyond the border between the visually handicapped and the non-handicapped, beginning to create new meanings and values to art itself. In this essay, I explore the possibilities and problems of this method, through my own experience of taking part in such activities.
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