Obstacles

Obstacles was the first series of work I completed after moving to Little Rock in 1985. It occurred to me that the visual experience a blind person is missing would be an interesting framework for photographs—seeing intensely what others can’t see. My first inclination was to focus on pure sensory pleasure, but that seemed a bit shallow. The blind person would appreciate the same stimuli as anyone else.

In preparation for the project, I did training exercises at a nearby rehabilitation center. The mobility skills were obviously the key to an independent lifestyle, and it was equally obvious that the obstacles in our environment would be a compelling subject for a series of photographs. To interpret the experience of navigating these obstacles, I sometimes used a hand camera and cane in motion. Others are more static and emphasize the hazardous details. For me, the obstacles are equally interesting formally, and I hope they provoke a wide range of responses from sighted viewers.