Stephanie Farmer: Midterm Portfolio – #2 Tactile Graphics

Project Description:

No one can feel the way waves look from far away. When you can touch water it flows dynamically being more about movement than feeling. That means that the feeling of waves is inaccessible to everyone. Trying to freeze the movement of water gives that sense of seeing it as a body to watch rather than something that can sweep you away. There were two iterations of making tactile versions of the photo of the Hudson River at sunset.

The theme of this work was touching the intangible. I wanted to explore my happy place which is the Hudson river piers in the west village. I walk to the water when I’m chasing the last licks of light or searching for a change of scenery. As a sighted person, the image of the sun resting on the waves feels like the most important part and I wanted to question different senatorial witnessings of the water in the Hudson River.

Documentation:

First, I took scraps of cardboard and contorted them into textural forms that carried the same dynamic texture of water. These are photos of my process starting from one flat piece of cardboard and building on it to end with a full textured piece of cardboard waves that have their grainy ribbed sides facing up. What I really appreciated about this version is that it looked nothing like water given the lack of color but it felt like it had the dimensions of water. The peaks and valleys of each wave are like the photos. 

What was lacking, I think was the way the photos have this smoothness to them. I enjoyed the depth in the cardboard but the actual grain of the material did not mirror the polished look of the waves. So I decided to change the process and achieve that smoothness with hot glue.

I started by using oil pastels to tint the background to loosely mimic the colors of the river. Then I layered hot glue to create the smooth volumes of waves. I really liked the way it looked visually pleasing–maintaining the blue color and scintillating quality of water, while also portraying the textural quality. 

Finally, I made a less rectangular version of the graphic to follow the way the waves curve.

 

Visual Descriptions:

Slide 1: The waves of the Hudson River at sunset. In the foreground, the water is a deep blue and turns a warm yellow with distance. 

Slide 2: I hold the tactile graphic in my hands in front of ice on the concrete ground. The graphic is an inch tall and two inches wide. It has a blue oil pastel base and layers of hot glue that crest over the top edge of the cardboard and catch the sun. 

Slide 3: I hold the cardboard tactile graphic in my hands in front of my hardwood floor.  The image is mostly brown as the cardboard has no color. It is a rectangle with rigid cardboard hot glued into 3-dimensional shapes like waves.

Slide 5: Step One–I hold cardboard in my hand showing how I peeled apart the layers of the cardboard. Step Two–the graphic with one layer of cardboard waves. Step Three–the graphic from the side shows the dimensions of the cardboard and the glue holding the layers together. Step Four–I hold the cardboard tactile graphic in my hands in front of my hardwood floor.  The image is mostly brown as the cardboard has no color. It is a rectangle with rigid cardboard hot glued into 3-dimensional shapes like waves.

Slide 6: Step One–I hold the cardboard in my hand with oil pastel that starts at a dark blue at the base and moves to a light blue and top with a peach color. Step Two–The first line of hot glue before it solidifies. Step Three–The longer tactile graphic with thinner layers of glue at the top and thicker waves of glue at the bottom. The oil pastel colors peek through.

Reflection questions: 

How is the theme particularly expressed through the modality of the week? 

I think that the idea of holding something giant in your hand can really be captured by a tactile graphic. It is a physical object that can allow you to think beyond the visual quality of something. Translating something large into something tangible is a meditative practice of building something from your own perspective. I really appreciate that process. 

Which elements of the work are beautifully/wonderfully/perfectly expressed through the modality? Which elements are lost or inexpressible through the modality of the week?

I feel like the dimensions of the water were very beautifully captured in both of my versions of tactile graphics. I enjoyed that the roughness of the sea was captured in the cardboard while the glowing nature of the waves was captured in the hot glue version. I think that the temperature and calming nature of the water aren’t quite captured in the aggressive artificiality of my work. At the end of the day, it doesn’t quite represent the raw truth of nature but I really enjoyed my attempt.

Who does this project exclude? Who would not be able to interact with this work? Who is this modality not accessible for?

Physical impairments that would prevent touching are left out of the tactile graphic world. In the same way we underestimate the power of sight we also underestimate the power of touch. I think that in creating access tools you really think about sensory experiences. Our skin covers our whole bodies and so I want to consider graphics that might be felt with through things other than hands like a garment. After thinking about a tactile garment, I’ve been really inspired by the idea of being enveloped by water. Maybe there could be a tactile graphic that was more like a blanket. Something huge that showed the powerful qualities of the ocean.

Additional Modality: 

Instructions for interacting with tactile graphics

FOR THE LONGER VERSION: place the cardboard pieces flat in front of you and let the shorter edges lie horizontally to you. Then take your two hands to the bottom of the graphic and move up towards the top of the piece. As you move allow your fingers to rise and fall with the grooves of the cardboard or the crests of the glue. Allow yourself to move as the waves don’t.

FOR THE SHORTER VERSION: hold the piece in your hands with your long fingers on the smooth cardboard back and your thumbs on the textured glue. Rub your thumbs along the smooth glue. Feel as the friction warms your fingers and maybe the glue too. Notice how powerful your touch is on this powerful image. Explore the dimensions of the solid water, and ride the waves with your hands.

After working with Annie Leist, I wanted to document the instructions I gave her for the tactile graphic. In class, we talked about code/instructions having similar qualities to image description. In a similar vein, I wanted to create a descriptive code to interact with the piece and add a new layer. As we learned, tactile graphics almost never exist without context-providing pieces whether that is a museum educator or a guiding text. I think the waves I created have a very specific rise and fall that is texturally intriguing from different directions but also is clearer when you move up and down across the piece. Providing instructions allows for a guarantee of movement with the formation of the piece in mind. It makes the experience of the piece more universal if all those who feel it follow the written instructions.