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Research Paper Proposal

Title:
The relevance of the art world to a blind audience and the success of the non visual specifically using Willem Boshoff's 'Blind Alphabet' as a point of reference.

Aim:
Is there a place for the tactile/non visual in the visually privileged art world, such as Willem Boshoff's 'Blind Alphabet? What were the success/failures and reception of the work from the point of view of a) blind audiences b) sighted audiences. Without such works that include senses other than sight, to what extent is the world of visual art irrelevant to those who are visually impaired?
I intend to try and unpack (other than the obvious of art being a visual medium) why the gaze holds so much power and agency over the other senses, particularly the haptic.

Instead of aiming to find a clear-cut solution to the topic (which I dont believe to be possible) I am looking to interrogate and unravel the issue and in so doing offer insight on it. In order to do this I am going to focus on Willem Boshoffs Blind Alphabet and its impact on the public/hosts of the work, in an attempt to gain a deeper understanding into the questions posed.

Rationale:
This work aims to question the visually privileged foundation of the art world. Has Boshoff's 'Blind Alphabet' made any progress in bringing about a change or was the work largely obsolete? The motivation for my research comes from firstly a strong compelling desire to touch art works when I attend shows, the more restricted they appear the more I want to see what they feel like and secondly from having a dog that went blind, has opened me up to question many aspects of life in which only sighted people have access. These two forms of inspiration together paved the way to question why in fact museums and the art world focus so prominently on visual.
Boshoff is not only an iconic South African artist but also ground breaking in his tactile exhibition to open the door to participation of blind visitors in the museum space. His work is an inverting of the visual privilege in the museum space.

Methodology:
I feel interviews would prove most useful for my research. The questions asked will mainly be regarding the reception and assessment of the success of the work in a museum space. Since the work is currently not on display, may prove challenging to locate those who have 'seen' it.
The research paper will be broken up into two main sections. The first being an analysis and description of the Blind Alphabet and the second section being an analysis of the reception of the work to a) blind audiences b) sighted audiences and c) the museum which hosted the work this section will rely heavily on the artists input as well as interviews, providing I can source such people who have had access to it.

Themes/problems:
An understanding as to why the tactile is so readily dismissed as a way in which to experience art, art there any other solutions and what would be the implication of allowing touch within a museum setting? There is much said about the power in looking but what about the power of the other senses? Is there room in the art world for works such as the Blind Alphabet? Is there a sustainable way to provide access into the world of visual art for those who cant see? How would one describe and define idea of aesthetics in relation to the blind/senses other than the visual? When discussing the visual, there are also questions of visibility/invisibility, which need to be addressed in the paper; unpacking these ideas might provide a link as to why the visual is dominant. There are also notions of translation at play within the Blind alphabet the move from visual to touch is an important key in determining the success of the work.
The main problem that arises with this research question is whether I will be able to locate an audience that has experienced the work.

Literature Review
CANDIN, F. 2010. Art Museums and Touch. Manchester University Press: Manchester and New York
One of the secondary texts that I have found relating to this topic is a book called Art Museums and Touch by Fiona Candin, this book seeks to give an overall insight into why and how the museum became situated as a primary visual space, it also seeks to highlight some possible shortcomings in including the element of touch into the museum space.

DI BELLO, P & KOUREAS, G (Ed). 2010. Art History and the Senses 1830 to the present Ashgate: Great Britain
Another relevant secondary book to start the research on is Art History and the Senses this book investigates the study of senses and how the visual came to be the dominant and the benefits of the use of other senses in engaging with material. The book gives a deconstruction of visual art and why, why is the visual set up as a rational source of knowledge, more so than the other senses

THOMPSON, J. 2005. The New Visibility in Theory, Culture and Society. 22 (31)
This paper discusses aspects visibility and power. The essay also outlines new forms of visibility, new media in which few are rendered visible to many. The advent of new media brings about both positive/negative effects on power, a risk to power as well as new opportunities. The visual needs to be assessed in terms of visibility and may be a link to the dominance of the visual as the visible holds power.

BRIGHENTI, A. 2007 Visibility in Current Sociology 55 (323)
This paper defines characteristics/describes visibility this can be used in conjunction with ideas of the visual as a good starting point. The essay also poses the question: can visibility be counted as a general category for the social sciences? It outlines recognition and control as two opposite products of notions of visibility- again relevant when trying to assess the visual privilege dominant in the art world.

CHAMBERS, I. 2002. Citizenship. Language and Modernity. In PMLA 117(1) pp.24-31
This essay deals with notions of translation, the invisible/visible. The essay talks about language/citizenship where ideas of translation are at play translation these ideas play to notions of visual/tactile where each reception is a translation of an object, feeling being a translation of the visual. Chambers also discusses how things can become blurred/distorted in the translation and how understanding of your own is informed by another. This essay will help inform the reception and translation of the visual to the non-visual and how things may get lost in the translation and reception of a visual by a tactile.