EXHIBITION PRESS DOSSIER · SAN FRANCISCO · 2003–2008
INSIGHTS
InSights was the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired’s annual juried exhibition of artists who are blind or visually impaired, shown in the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery’s “Art in City Hall” program on the lower level of City Hall. Barbara showed there across five editions—2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008—and in 2006 led the Artist’s Day workshop for the participating artists.
What survives is organizer material rather than criticism: the coordinator’s 2003 artist list, the 2006 application packet and printed catalogue page reproducing Soul-Etude, a 2007 openings column naming her among forty-three artists, the 2008 e-vite listing her, her own statements for three editions, and the photographs—Barbara wearing her INSIGHTS ARTIST badge beside In My Front Yard and the Color Haikus panels on the City Hall wall.
THE EXHIBITION
Art in City Hall
Presented by the LightHouse (then the Rose Resnick LightHouse) with the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery. Juried; open to legally blind artists anywhere; touchable work encouraged; Braille and audio description with artist interviews at every edition. The 18th annual (2007) showed 120 works by 43 artists; the 19th (2008) 150 works by 44. Coordinator Kari Orvik. 2009, the 20th, was the last.
THE WORKS
What is on record
Ugly / Beautiful (2005), Soul-Etude (2005), In My Front Yard (2007), Color Haikus #1 (2007)
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas and wood panels · 30 × 20 in. to 36 × 24 in.
2005: a small Ugly / Beautiful painting, by her own account. 2006: Soul-Etude, reproduced in the printed catalogue. 2007: In My Front Yard and the Color Haikus panels, photographed on the wall beside her. 2003 and 2008: participation confirmed, works unknown.
THE WORKSHOP
Artist’s Day, 2006
She facilitated the Artist’s Day for the 2006 artists at the LightHouse—drawing to music, written introductions, artists’ issues, a group collage—dedicated to the memory of Michael Richards, the previous year’s facilitator. Her agenda, her resource list and her own written summary survive, all adapted from the Art Options method.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Barbara on InSights
I was diagnosed with a retinal degenerative disease in 1984. It is a rare form of retinitis pigmentosa—where the vision has “Swiss cheese” holes, rather than the usual tunnel effect of RP.
I was a painter prior to my vision loss, and I had to re-invent my process of working. As a result, my color palette has grown more vivid as my sight diminishes. I create original stencils which form icons as imagery. I like to work large, with multiple layers formed by spontaneous gestures.
I am increasingly inspired by the world of sound. Music and language are used to form “weavings of words” where the viewer is invited to create his/her own poetry. I also respond to nature as a theme, although my work is infused with an urban sensibility. I am less influenced by what I see and increasingly inspired by what I hear, remember and imagine.
“I was a painter prior to my vision loss, and have had to reinvent my process of working since. As a result, my color palette has grown more vivid as my sight diminishes. I create original stencils which form icons as imagery. I like to work large with multiple layers formed by spontaneous gestures. I am increasingly inspired by the world of sound and an inner vision. Music and language are used to form ‘weavings of words’ where the viewer is invited to create her/his own poetry.”
— Barbara Romain, artist statement printed in the InSights 2006 catalogue, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery at City Hall
“I am always happy to have a chance to exhibit my work, particularly in a context where the audience is made aware that I am a blind artist. Exhibiting my work at Insights is an important opportunity for me.”
— Barbara Romain, artist statement for InSights 2003
THE PRESS RECORD
What was written, printed and photographed
Every press release below states two facts: whether Barbara is named, and whether her artwork is highlighted.