Andreas Muller-Pohle is an artist and publisher from Berlin . He was awarded the Reind M. De Vries’ European Photography Prize in 2001. He has worked as a professor and written
books about photo theory. His work included within the Christiane Paul text was Blind Genes. Ten years before he created Blind Genes in 2002, he began experimenting with genetic, digital, and political codes, with this work combining two of them.
Blind Genes is the listed genetic sequence of DNA that is contained within the trait of blindness, where the four nucleotide bases are color coded, before being put into braille. After the background reading, there is not much left to decipher as an audience. Braille allows the blind to communicate with other people and this representation of what blindness is scientifically, in braille. The colors within the work, on the other hand, are only available to the audience with sight, juxtaposing the culture of those without sight and those with sight. Blind Genes causes the audience to wonder about what it would be like to be blind, reading braille and not seeing the colors in front of them.
Blind Genes is the listed genetic sequence of DNA that is contained within the trait of blindness, where the four nucleotide bases are color coded, before being put into braille. After the background reading, there is not much left to decipher as an audience. Braille allows the blind to communicate with other people and this representation of what blindness is scientifically, in braille. The colors within the work, on the other hand, are only available to the audience with sight, juxtaposing the culture of those without sight and those with sight. Blind Genes causes the audience to wonder about what it would be like to be blind, reading braille and not seeing the colors in front of them.
This is a strong piece, simplistic yet it makes a statement. The only critiques are that without the background information, the piece loses its emphasis, as it may look like random colorized braille. Yet at the same time, knowing the background of the work leaves less interpretation for the audience, since there is no abstractness to the piece itself. The abstract thoughts therefore, are to be put into the mind of the audience.
Image from here.
This is an interesting work of art for many of the reasons you have mentioned above. I can't help but wonder how it was put on display; was it hung in a gallery where it could be walked up to and felt by those people that are blind and could read it? Then that asks the question what would a blind person be doing in an art gallery? May be just to see this one work. It would make an interesting relation between those that can see it and those that can fell it and i wonder what an art critique by a blind person would say about this, or wether there would be any critique.
ReplyDelete