Seeing Abstraction Differently
Jan 20, 2010

On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, a tour of the exhibition, Georgia O’Keeffe: Abstraction was organized with Art Education for the Blind for students from the New York Institute for Special Education. The students were all blind or had low vision, and it was their first time visiting the Whitney. We prepared for the tour by studying different techniques such as verbal description and creating tactile diagrams that can help you feel the lines and shapes in a work of art. After we all briefly got to know one another, we headed down to the galleries for our tour of the exhibition. The tour was filled with highlights, and here are a few.

Eve started us off with a brief summary of Georgia O’Keeffe’s life and work. Then Amadu led us into the first gallery with O'Keeffe's earliest charcoal drawings. He focused on Blue No. 1 and we talked about the color and curves in the painting. Amadu passed around some tactile diagrams that we made so that the students could feel the curving lines in the painting, and showed them how to use their hands to create the curves themselves. 

Cesar and I talked about Lake George and From the Lake #1. We compared the moods, emotions, and colors of the two paintings, focusing on the levels of abstraction in these two works. Lake George is more realistic than the very abstract From the Lake #1. 

Sahkia and Lucy presented Black Abstraction. They talked about the story behind the painting and how it was inspired by an experience O'Keeffe had when she was in the hospital having surgery to remove a lump in her breast. Luckily, she didn't have breast cancer; but she never forgot the experience of lying down on the surgical table as the anesthesia put her to sleep. As a group, we talked about our own dark memories and feelings and how we got through those scary times. 

Eve ended our tour by talking about O’Keeffe’s last two works in the exhibition, which also happened to be some of the last pieces she painted, late in her life. O'Keeffe worked on them when she was losing her sight. We discussed how her career really came full circle, as she ended using the same curving shapes that she started with.

After the tour, we headed back to the staff annex to talk and have snacks. The highlight of the conversation was talking about what the tour meant to everyone and what we learned from each other. For me, the tour was unforgettable. It was nice to know that I impacted someone’s life and contributed to an experience where everyone was having a good time. I also enjoyed getting to know the students and how they live. They were funny, smart, and so full of life! Their responses and ideas were incredible. This is definitely one tour that I will never forget.   

By Yasmin