Art History Book for Blind Users

[Virginiaz at aol.com]

NEWS FROM OPTICALTOUCH SYSTEMS,
the publishing division of
ART EDUCATION FOR THE BLIND, INC.
a nonprofit organization

For Info or Orders Contact:  Kyoko Tokunaga (212) 334-3700;

or e-mail Toku at idt.net



ART HISTORY THROUGH TOUCH AND SOUND

A MULTISENSORY GUIDE FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED



BAROQUE ART IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

The First in a Pioneering Multivolume Series



Tactile Illustrations of the Major Monuments in the History of Art With

a Companion Audio Narrative



NEW YORK--On March 30, 1998, OpticalTouch Systems will release BAROQUE

ART IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, the first in a groundbreaking

multivolume art history series for people who are blind and visually

impaired.  Developed by Art Education for the Blind, Inc., ART HISTORY

THROUGH TOUCH AND SOUND: A MULTISENSORY GUIDE FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED

is the result of nine years of research, development, and testing.  This

innovative audiobook series spans the history of art from prehistoric

through contemporary, including some 600 tactile diagrams illustrating

major monuments in the history of art. Orders are currently being

accepted for BAROQUE ART IN SEVENTEENTH CENTURY (@$149.95;  available

now), THE ART OF ANCIENT EGYPT (@$149.95;  available fall 1998), and THE

BUILDING BLOCKS OF ART (@$149.95;  available fall 1998).  Prices

effective through 6/30/98;  $224.95 thereafter.



"Art History is no longer a closed book but an open map, leading the

senses through a concert of ideas, a garden of delights," says Marilyn

Stokstad, Ph.D., author of Art History (Abrams/Prentice Hall).  "An

interdisciplinary approach incorporating the most recent research in the

fields of education, psychology, and art history," says Paula Terry,

Director of AccessAbility, National Endowment for the Arts.  "A model

for other institutions in their search for ways to reach out to special

constituencies," says David A. Ross, Director, Whitney Museum of

American Art.  "Timely...a lesson for scholars and students of

perception worldwide," says John M. Kennedy, author of Drawing and the

Blind: Pictures to Touch (Yale University Press).



>From the Venus of Willendorf, dated to about 28,000 B.C., to the most

recent developments in contemporary art, the series guides the reader

through a journey that has long been denied to blind and visually

impaired audiences, as well as to people with diminished sight resulting

from age.  Each volume of ART HISTORY THROUGH TOUCH AND SOUND comprises

a bound book of tactile diagrams and a companion audio-narrative (audio is on
standard tape cassette and plays on standard players).  The

diagrams utilize a lexicon of seven standardized patterns, enabling the

reader to acquire a familiarity with the tactile vocabulary.  The

narrative guides the reader through the diagrams, providing art

historical information as well as richly detailed descriptions of the

works.  The success of this two-part system depends on these

complimentary components.  Professional art historians, in many cases

highly regarded specialists, collaborated with Art Education for the

Blind's development team to create narratives that convey the historical

richness and formal range of some 30,000 years of visual art.



Color and black-and-white photographs of the works accompany the tactile

illustrations. Image captions--which include attribution, date, media,

dimensions, and location or custodian of the work--are provided in both

large print and Braille.  Additionally, interpretive sound-compositions

offer alternative ways of understanding a work of visual art's thematic

essence or compositional dynamic.  Each volume includes art-appreciation

activities and a short bibliography.  All volumes undergo extensive

clinical trials with blind advisors for content, clarity, and accuracy.



The multivolume series begins with THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF ART, which

introduces the reader to formal concepts in fine art such as

perspective, line, color, and shadow.  Among the range of visual arts

featured in subsequent volumes are painting, sculpture, architecture,

mosaic, manuscript illumination, textiles, ceramic ware, tribal art,

earthworks, and installation art.  In some cases, multiple diagrams are

used to examine a single work of art.  For example, architecture is

explored through diagrams that illustrate ground plans, elevations,

sections, decorative orders, and structural elements.  For complex

paintings, a sequence of diagrams is used to illustrate figures,

background, and composite views, as well as details.  By separating the

visual information into layers, or stages, the diagram sequence allows

the reader to assemble, piece by piece, an image of a highly complex

work of art.



Today, at least 40 million people worldwide are blind.  Approximately 10

million Americans have some degree of serious vision loss or are totally

blind.  Age- and AIDS-related eye disorders affect growing numbers of

our population, and each year, 50,000 more Americans become blind.

Access to the history of culture is a right not a privilege.  The series

is suitable for a range of audiences, including senior citizens, college

students, young adults, and independent learners.  Early versions of ART

HISTORY THROUGH TOUCH AND SOUND have been used in courses at The Museum

of Modern Art, New York, and Drew University, New Jersey.  Sighted

readers also benefit from the method used in the series.



BAROQUE ART IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY  is authored by Art Education for

the Blind and Paula L. Gerson, Ph.D., Chair, Art History Department,

Florida State University;  with Virginia Hooper.  Teresa Kardoulias is

the illustrator.  Charles Scribner III, Ph.D., is the art historical

consultant for this volume.  This richly detailed study begins with a

broad view of the political, social, economic, scientific,

technological, and intellectual background of this remarkable period of

expansion and discovery.  The seventeenth century produced the grandeur

of Gianlorenzo Bernini's basilica of St. Peter's, Rome; the

energy-infused space of Francesco Borromini's Chapel of St. Ivo; the

dramatically lit interiors of Caravaggio--the artist who invented

chiaroscuro; the spiritually illuminated works of Rembrandt; and the

exquisitely detailed still-life and landscape paintings from Holland.

These monuments and more are illustrated in BAROQUE ART IN THE

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.  Among the other offerings are works by Pietro da

Cortona, Artemisia Gentileschi, Diego Velazquez, Louis Le Nain, Nicolas

Poussin, Peter Paul Rubens, Frans Halls, Jan Davidsz. De Heem, and Jacob

van Ruisdael.



With the aid of on-site ambiance sound and interpretive

sound-compositions, the sense of hearing is drafted into the pursuit of

visual understanding.  The reader explores the bustling sounds of St.

Peter's piazza.  By walking through the oval arms of the colonnade and

hearing the echoes of footfalls, the reader acquires a sense of the

spatial dynamics of Bernini's remarkable outdoor space.  To understand

Rubens' painting The Gathering of the Manna, an original electronic

musical composition serves as an auditory analogue, offering a

soundscape that evokes the dramatically charged scene of Moses and his

people gathering food in the desert.  A festive party atmosphere and the

tinkling sounds of silver and crystal set the mood for De Heem's

sumptuous vanitas painting Still Life with Parrots.



Founded in 1987, Art Education for the Blind, Inc., a nonprofit

organization, provides access to visual art through a range of

educational materials and programs.  All profits from the sale of books

will be invested into product development and programming, fulfilling

Art Education for the Blind's mission of providing full intellectual

access to the history and culture of our world.



ART HISTORY THROUGH TOUCH AND SOUND

A Multisensory Guide for the Blind and Visually Impaired

BAROQUE ART IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

Publication Date:  March 30, 1998

Authors for this volume:  Art Education for the Blind & Paula L. Gerson,

Ph.D.;  with Virginia Hooper

Illustrator:  Teresa Kardoulias

Trim size of package:  10 1/2" x 13",

includes spiral-bound soft-cover book and audio-cassettes

Type:  18-point Helvetica & transparent Braille

Illustrations:  29 tactile diagrams; 19 color black-&-white photographs

Audio running time:  approx. 9 hours

Price for this volume:  $149.95

ISBN:  1-890116-00-9

TO ORDER:  212-334-3700

Publicity:  Kyoko Tokunaga, 212-334-3700

Art Education for the Blind
160 Mercer Street
NY NY  10012