reflecting about touch, art and life

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Permalink Reply by Debbie Douez on August 10, 2008 at 9:25

I recently had a show of the series you can see on my page. The work is collaged forms from different thicknesses of watercolour paper. What delights me about this work is the number of people who want to touch it! On the opening night friends of mine brought their two sons and one of them asked their mom if they could touch the painting. His mother told him with a strict face - noooo, no se puede (no you can't). Overhearing this I picked him up and encouraged him to touch the painting. I believe Art needs to be interacted with.

Little Victor was not the only person who has had the desire to touch these paintings. Outside the gallery setting in the comfort of my home when showing the work to friends they too have instinctivly reached out to touch it. Is it not the most human thing in the world to reach out and touch? Art comes from our hands and our bodies and our souls. It should not only touch the eyes. I love the idea of touchable art - to make it more real - more accessable - more human. It is not distinct from us but rather forms an intimate part of us. Touch brings us closer.

Permalink Reply by ivana petan on August 12, 2008 at 18:10

dear debbie, thank for your comment.
i had quite similar experience on my peering objects exhibition: the installation i created were egg like objects with the hole on the top made of porcelain and the quality of the porcelain - translucency - could be experienced only by taking the round objects in the hands and looking inside it. it was so great to see the spectators of all ages taking carefully objects in their hands, holding and turning them around and looking inside them... it looked like a discovery game, the spectators were so in it, looking first in one objects then in another... i was really happy! and the positions of the objects constantly changed and the installation as a whole looked from moment to moment different. so the spectators were actually - with their touch - re-creating the installation itself.
and as you said, the 'touchable art' makes the artworks not just some objects which are there to look at, but objects which person can connect with more intimate, from his innerness. and as i see it, this process goes also in the other direction - by tactile connecting to the objects one can also feel herself, can also come closer to herself.