Deaf Art
The De’VIA and Experiences of Their Eyes
Art involving Deaf Visual and Image Art is known as De’VIA. De’VIA was an art movement inspired by deaf artists to “come out of the closet” during the early 1980s and late 1990s (Miller 303). To come out of the closet is to show pride in being deaf, instead of hiding their deafness or trying to imitate the hearing. Deaf people have a history comprise of discrimination, being ignored and oppressed by the hearing world. Thus, through their art they are able to represent their experience, culture and struggles; all of which offers a glimpse into their respective worlds and to open up our understanding of their life. Betty G. Miller and Chuck Baird are two deaf artists well known during the De’VIA movement. Their artworks conveyed how the world is seen through the deaf perception. Patricia Durr, who is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cultural and Creative Studies at the National Technical Institute of Technology for the Deaf (NITD), states in her article, De’VIA: Investigating Deaf Visual Image Art, from the 2006 Deaf Studies Today volume 2 magazine: “Affirmation recognition of the value and naturalness of ASL, recording the acculturation process, celebrating a sense of affiliation and acceptance, and giving visual form to Deafhood are all part of affirmation art providing an holistic gaze of Deaf people” (Durr, 2006:174-75). What is De’VIA, you may ask, hat is it behind the meaning of it and who created this? There were about nine great professional artists who tried to come up with a meaning for ‘deaf art’ and define it’s characteristics of deaf foundation in art. At The result, the name De’VIA was announced and presented at The Deaf Way Festival at Gallaudet University according to Sonnenstrahl’s 2002 book Deaf Artists In America. De’VIA allowed the deaf artists to express and to show their childhood experiences, telling the whole world about their deafness. Betty G. Miller, who led
Art involving Deaf Visual and Image Art is known as De’VIA. De’VIA was an art movement inspired by deaf artists to “come out of the closet” during the early 1980s and late 1990s (Miller 303). To come out of the closet is to show pride in being deaf, instead of hiding their deafness or trying to imitate the hearing. Deaf people have a history comprise of discrimination, being ignored and oppressed by the hearing world. Thus, through their art they are able to represent their experience, culture and struggles; all of which offers a glimpse into their respective worlds and to open up our understanding of their life. Betty G. Miller and Chuck Baird are two deaf artists well known during the De’VIA movement. Their artworks conveyed how the world is seen through the deaf perception. Patricia Durr, who is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cultural and Creative Studies at the National Technical Institute of Technology for the Deaf (NITD), states in her article, De’VIA: Investigating Deaf Visual Image Art, from the 2006 Deaf Studies Today volume 2 magazine: “Affirmation recognition of the value and naturalness of ASL, recording the acculturation process, celebrating a sense of affiliation and acceptance, and giving visual form to Deafhood are all part of affirmation art providing an holistic gaze of Deaf people” (Durr, 2006:174-75). What is De’VIA, you may ask, hat is it behind the meaning of it and who created this? There were about nine great professional artists who tried to come up with a meaning for ‘deaf art’ and define it’s characteristics of deaf foundation in art. At The result, the name De’VIA was announced and presented at The Deaf Way Festival at Gallaudet University according to Sonnenstrahl’s 2002 book Deaf Artists In America. De’VIA allowed the deaf artists to express and to show their childhood experiences, telling the whole world about their deafness. Betty G. Miller, who led