Watch blind people's reactions when they "see" 3D-printed art including the Mona Lisa.
Is art only meant for people with sight? How can the blind appreciate the beauty of art?
At the National Federation for the Blind of Washington convention in Seatac, 12-year-old Luc Gandarias of Whidbey Island, a former award-winning photographer for LIFE magazine who is legally blind himself, introduced attendees to the project.
Blind people experienced or 'saw' art for the very first time at the National Federation of the Blind’s National Convention, 2015 where famous paintings including a 3D-printed version of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.
Running their fingers over the art exploring the depth, texture, width and length allowing them to create a mental picture and 'see' the painting.
John Olson started his company 3D Photoworks in 2008 and has spent the past seven years perfecting a patented fine art printing process that will allow the blind to experience art like never before.
Olson put together a team of 3D-technicians and engineers and came up with an interesting method to convert any painting, photo or drawing into a 3D-tactile art print, completed with 'touch-activated' sensors that provide audio information about the artwork.
There are more than 285 million blind and sight impaired individuals in the world with a striking 15 million from India alone.
They are in need of more funding to help everyone to be able to create a mental picture with art. 3DPhotoWorks has just launched a Kickstarter campaign in the hopes to raise $500,000 by 9th December.
"These paintings allow true equality because finally the blind are able to see the images that the sighted have always been able to see," said Gandarias.
With the funds from the campaign, the team will be able to increase production.
Read full article here.
Watch the blind react to world famous art:
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 "3D-printed Mona Lisa | Credits: John Olson")
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