This year, the ‘City of Canals’ is hosting an extraordinary solo exhibition – “Venice 3024” by artist Daniel Arsham at the prestigious 60th Venice Biennale, curated by Adriano Pedrosa.
The American contemporary artist, known for his statement that ‘art is for everyone,’ just proved it once again when, during his new exhibition in Venice, he held a tactile tour for his friend Dr. Hoby Wedler, who has been completely blind since birth.
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Artist Daniel Arsham, at his new art exhibition in Venice, held a tactile tour for his friend Dr. Hoby Wedler, who is completely blind
“This one that you’re feeling now is polished quartz,” explained Arsham to Wedler. “And now feel the face, see if you can recognize it”
On April 19th, Daniel Arsham shared a video on his Instagram account where people could see how the artist carefully led Dr. Hoby Wedler toward one of his signature sculptures. “I gave my friend Hoby a tour of the exhibition in Venice. Hoby can hear space,” was written next to the video.
In the video, Arsham can be seen guiding Dr. Wedler’s hands up the sculpture and explaining that the artwork is from a series based on Star Wars. Wedler, who’s known for his work as an American chemist, educator, and entrepreneur, seems overwhelmed with emotion and is continuously asking questions. Curious about what kind of stones are incorporated into the sculpture, he mentions that from the texture he could assume that they were quartz crystals.
Arsham not only does a truly beautiful job with patiently explaining the details but also by giving Dr. Wedler space to discover the art piece for himself. When the artist finally moves Wedler’s hands up the bust, he asks if his friend can understand what the statue depicts, but Wedler only can tell it’s human-like, which Arsham further clarifies to be a Star Wars Stormtrooper.
Then, still discussing how the crystals are incorporated and sourced, they both moving to ‘see’ the next part of the exhibition, beautifully reminding everyone around there that there is more than one way to enjoy art.
Daniel Arsham, who as a child wanted to touch everything in museums, showed how visually impaired people can enjoy art
@dailymail This is the moment artist Daniel Arsham helped a man named Hoby, who is blind, enjoy his sculpture at La Biennale in Venice. The bust was an interpretation of a Storm Trooper helmet with inset crystals. 🎥 Ark Media #art #artist #sculpture #crystals #venice #labiennale #blind #accessibility #news #stormtrooper #starwars ♬ original sound – Daily Mail
‘Venice 3024’ by Daniel Arsham introduces new techniques into the artist’s Fractured Idols series, alongside the signature ones from Fictional Archaeology
Such an experience, known as a tactile tour, is a common practice in museums and galleries for visually impaired visitors to be able to enjoy the artwork. Museums in many countries provide special models that make masterpieces accessible to those people who are blind or visually impaired. Allowing the participants to physically interact with the artworks through touch, sound, and other sensory experiences enhances their understanding and enjoyment of art.
For instance, the Danish mobile app Be My Eyes, which was created to help people who are blind or low-vision, has collected 10 museums and initiatives from around the globe that you can find on their site. The company is all about sharing small acts of kindness: blind or visually impaired users can request help from a sighted volunteer, who will be notified on their phone and once they accept the request for help, a live audio-video connection will be set up between the two parts.
Since Be My Eyes was launched in January 2015, over 6 million volunteers have signed up to assist blind and low-vision users. The assistance request can be done in over 180 languages, making the app the biggest online community for blind and low-vision people as well as one of the largest micro-volunteering platforms in the world!
The video capturing Dr. Wedler’s tactile tour was filmed at the deconsecrated Roman Catholic church, Chiesa di Santa Caterina, Venice, where Daniel Arshham is taking viewers from the past and present into the future with his Fractured Idols series, alongside his signature ones from Fictional Archaeology. Due to collaboration with the historic Réunion des Musées Nationaux – Grand Palais (RMN), a 200-year-old French molding atelier, Arsham was able to use molds and scans of some of the most iconic works from the collections of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, Acropolis Museum in Athens and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
The solo exhibition named ‘Venice 3024,’ presented by Perrotin in collaboration with Ronald Harrar, was unveiled to public on the 17th of April and will be open until September 15th, 2024 at the Chiesa di Santa Caterina, Venice, Italy.
Arsham was born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in Miami, Florida. At only 12 years old, he lost his childhood home due to Hurricane Andrew and this traumatic event has been a continuous theme through his work ever since.
21 years ago, without any art world connections, gallery, recognition or social media, Arsham went to his studio daily and just made art by failing over and over again. Through the years, consistency, dedication, hard work and incredible talent eventually led him to worldwide success.
“I met Daniel when he was 22 years old, an emerging artist living in his studio, and I was immediately drawn to his incredible talent and distinct vision. Daniel’s practice breaks the boundaries of fine art and exists across industries. As his success has grown, he has been able to keep his practice open to a broad audience, as a leader in editions, collaborations, and a widespread internet presence, which is admirable. It has been a pleasure to grow with Daniel, our gallery expanding alongside his career,” art advisor Todd Marshall shared his thoughts on his social media.
Today, 43-year-old New York-based artist Daniel Arsham is blurring the lines between art, architecture and performance all over the globe. His artworks belong to the collections of such places as the Musée Guimet, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Pérez Art Museum Miami, and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, among the others. Some of Arsham’s more recent collaborative projects includes brands such as Tiffany, Adidas, Dior, Toraichi, Byredo, Rimowa, and Porsche.
Image credits: @danielarsham
According to All May See Foundation, globally, at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment, yet that doesn’t mean that they can’t enjoy art.
Born completely blind, Dr. Wedler’s story is not only showing overcoming challenges, but also redefining what’s possible and thanks to Daniel Arsham’s shared video, people got an inspiring reminder of how art and little gestures of kindness can bring so much joy and light to those who need it the most.
People on the internet were touched by Arsham’s kind and inspiring gesture
