"Special People with Special Talents" is an exhibition of artwork done by artists with disabilities. These disabilities vary but do not define the artists in any way. The exhibit will be located in the Performing Arts Center at Crafton Hills College for the month of March which is National Disabilities Month. The group that is organizing this exhibit is the Crafton Hills Art Association from Yucaipa, California. The association wishes to raise awareness and information regarding some of these disabilities and prove to others who may be suffering from a disability that they can still have dreams and still pursue them. Art on display will include Oil Painting, Acrylic painting,  sculptures from various material, and Digital Art.

The title of this exhibit is "Special People with Special Talents"

 

Participating artists are as follows:
 

Tom Lamb

Albert Alcalay

Ken Walters

Felice Tagliaferri

Michelle Vara

Desmond Blair

Bernadette Resha

Tommy Hollenstein

Betty G. Miller

Stephen Wiltshire
 

This exhibit was created with the sole purpose of showing that people are capable of overcoming life's challenges. When a person suffers from a physical, mental or emotional set back they should know that their life does not end there at that very moment. The artists I chose were examples of survivors who were able to overcome unfortunate events and continue living their lives specifically through their artistic abilities. I tried my best to find artists with different disabilities as well as different specialties, this way there is a broader spectrum to go by in case a viewer does not think they could paint, well maybe they can create art with other tools and techniques as these artists have. The artists in this exhibition were determined to create art and figured which techniques they felt comfortable with whether it be using their chairs, placing their paint brushes between their lips, holding the tool with their feet or creating based on the sensation of touch. Each and every one of them blew my mind, I thought that their talents and abilities were too cool  not to share. 

"Capitol Building"

By Tom Lamb

Acrylic on Paper

24" x 18"

2008

 
 
      Tom is part of the Tierra del Sol Foundation in Sunland, California which is a group that helps adults with disabilities see their true potential. The foundation encourages its members to look beyond their imperfections and helps them focus their energy on arts and crafts. Tierra del Sol holds exhibitions and has a website where people may purchase paintings, drawings and other hand made materials such as jewelry made by its members. The reason I like this painting is because it represents the capitol building in a different way. It is painted how Tom views it which makes it unique and specific to his style. I love the colors in the sky and the fact that it looks almost abstract. In the information provided about Tom on the website they say, "  His paintings employ a bold expressionistic style to depict familiar scenes from his life and community, often recreating detailed scenes from memory". You can see his bold style in this painting because he is not afraid to use dark bold colors. Half of the painting is dark and ominous and the other half is colorful and inviting.

(http://tierradelsol.org/)



"A Busy Harbor"

By Albert Alcalay

Oil on Canvas

43" x 43"

1961

This oil painting was done by a Jewish man named Albert Alcalay. Albert is an expressionist artist who was a Holocaust survivor. He started drawing when he was in concentration camps. In an interview with the Globe in 2004 he stated, "Color is a part of my circulation. I think I would use red even if I were on the North Pole and everything is white". As you can see in this painting, he has used just about every color available and has applied his own style to his view of the harbor and if you look at it for a while you are able to see a boat and some geometrical shapes just arranged in a circular pattern. The reason I chose to include this work in the exhibit is because although Albert has no physical disability, he has gone through a traumatic event and with the loss of his family I would imagine he suffered mentally or psychologically. Surviving the Holocaust let him live a life where he was able to teach about his experience and express his emotions through art.

(http://kantarfinearts.com/gallery/aa-1.asp, http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/04/27/albert_alcalay_noted_painter_survived_holocaust/)

"Pencil Shavings"

By Ken Walters

35 H x 23.2 W in 

Digital Art on Paper

2012

Ken Walters is a former engineer who unfortunately suffered from a forklift accident and later a cerebral hemorrhage which left him partially paralyzed. After overcoming his paralysis he began creating abstract and digital art. He mentioned in an interview that this stroke was "the biggest blessing in disguise I ever could have wished for". 

In regards to this piece he says that the picture reminds him of sharpening colored pencils as a child right before he would begin to color. At first glance this picture reminded me of Autumn or Fall because of the color scheme he chose but after reading his description on it I can easily see what he is talking about. This fits into this exhibit because it is a form of art that people don't think of right away. In today's society all of the growing technology is becoming more popular which makes me believe we will be seeing more art done by graphic design and digital media. Ken is an artist I believe deserves to be in this exhibit because he is choosing to see the positive effects of his stroke and using art as a positive outlet for a negative occurrence.   

(http://www.bestpsychologydegrees.org/10-people-who-gained-extraordinary-abilities-from-brain-damage/, http://fineartamerica.com/featured/pencil-shavings-ken-walters.html, http://www.saatchiart.com/art/New-Media-Pencil-Shavings/317044/1370840/view)

"Cristo Rivelato"

  By Felice Tagliaferri

1900 x 1000 x 50 cm

Marble

2010

    Felice is a blind man who went to observe art and was told he was not allowed to touch anything. Since he had no vision and would feel with his hands he was insulted and decided the ultimate form of revenge was to recreate his own interpretation of it. The sculpture Cristo Rivelato meaning "Christ Revealed" took Felice over two years to create. He said in regards to this piece, "There are so many messages. One is that a block of marble isn't ruined when it is lightly touched by expert hands,

second, the disabled are sick and tired of waiting for others to decide and tell them what they can and cannot do". 

       I love the fact that instead of letting the situation get the best of him and used his gift to make a statement and speak up for other who are faced with unfortunate circumstances because of their condition. He fits perfectly into this exhibit because he is a prime example of people not letting something like sight hold them back from living their life. 

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/artimageslibrary/5470647689/, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/21/us-italy-blind-idUSTRE71K1Y420110221) 

"Ted"

By Michelle Vara

120" h x 48"

2013

Recycled metals 

     Michelle Vara is an artist with "crossed-optic lobe" more commonly known as Dyslexia. Her "disability" left her with an impatient mother and schools who labeled her retarded although she said in an interview that her IQ scores were above average. Art was a way for her to escape society and have her own time to gather her thoughts and use her imagination.

      This sculpture is made from recycled metals, horse shoes and tools that were left to rust. Michelle is inspiring because she feels that she is not disabled and her ability to create pieces from ideas she has is her greatest "birth gift". On her website she says that all artists should consider the elements, facilities and the surroundings. I also love that this piece is not a painting. Michelle does paint too, but this gives the exhibit an idea of what a wide range of talent these artists have!

(http://www.artfulvagabond.com/artists-and-dyslexia-day-103/, http://mvarametalandpaint.com/site/about/artist-statement/,  http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/55/d9/66/55d966f69a2299efcbde703296647fb6.jpg)