By Jamie Iglesias
Published: September 23, 2009

By Jamie Iglesias

Daily Titan Staff Writer

The Eye Care Center (ECC) at the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO) held its fifth annual Shared Visions International Art Exhibit on Tuesday featuring 90 pieces created by blind and legally blind artists.

“Our goal is to feature the artist and show people the amazing talent they have and to show those with visual impairment are not limited just by their vision. In fact, some artists actually created their work after they lost their vision,” said Rebecca Kammer, associate professor and chief of the Low Vision Rehabilitation Department at the SCCO.

“For a lot of the artists, this is their first time having their art exhibited. They are super pumped about having their art displayed and educating people about their vision loss and how they were able to create it with that vision loss. I love to hear the buzz out here during the reception night and to hear the stories and hear them talk about their work,” Kammer said.

Kammer got the idea from a patient of hers, Kurt Weston. “He asked about the blank walls and suggested the idea of having an art exhibit,” Kammer said. “After brainstorming for half an hour, he convinced me to get this done.”

In order to be one of the artists, “They have to be at a minimum of 2200 central vision loss, which means they cannot see the big “E” on the eye chart with corrected vision (glasses),” said Arlene Kaye, director of marketing and curator for the exhibit.

Other conditions that these artists have is tunnel vision or reduced visual field, which means a visual field that is 20 degrees less than the normal visual field status, Kammer said.

The artwork was displayed along narrow hallways where guests could roam and observe the variety of work. Along with each piece, there was a brief description of each artist and his or her condition. There were paintings, sculptures, photographs, sketches, and mosaics.

Deni Sisoev joined her mother to see her uncle, Michael Tickenoff’s, artwork and was impressed. “I think that when you are weak in some areas you are stronger in others, so being blind allowed him to develop more in art,” Sisoev said.

“A lot of people have a knack for it, and they go for it. It’s incredible that these are blind artists. It’s unbelievable, “Sisoev said.

Tickenoff has optic nerve damage, which limits his peripheral vision. Nina Goudy, Tickenoff’s sister, said, “He has been an adventurer all of his life. He’s just an artist all the way around. He never gives up. He is hoping that there might be stem cell research that might return his eyesight.”

“What makes his art different is that it seems like he has a photographic memory, and he has stored all of that stuff in his brain all of these years. It’s all of his experiences. It’s hard for us to understand,” Goudy said.

Juny Wendel has central vision loss and recently lost some of her vision. She describes her art as eclectic or whimsical: “I use more media. I throw in a lot of different things, and I think that is what makes my art different,” Wendel said. She used eye shadow to add color to one of her butterfly pieces.

Photography is the majority of art that is displayed this year, Kammer said. She noticed that with the photography there was more usage of digital technology.

Jerome Wright Jr. is one of the photographers that used digital technology for this exhibit; he uses Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software.

“I have been living with glaucoma basically my whole life. I have had several operations under the knife. I have had laser surgery,” Wright said. “At least I have some sight, and I can still have some fun taking photos, thanks to the digital age.”

“I started taking pictures with a single-lens reflex (SLR) film camera, but I was not good at it; it was expensive,” Wright said. “Then we came to the digital age, and I started to use a point and shoot camera and that progressed. Because of the digital age, I am now able to pursue it.”

The exhibit featured 49 artists. “The artists are from all over the world and all over the country. From Southern California, there are about 20 of the 49,” Kaye said.

The exhibit will run from Sept. 22 until mid-August 2010. For additional information, contact Arlene Kaye at: (714) 992-7865.