CCA News
Design for Disability: Alternative Ways of Making
Posted on Thursday, July 23, 2009, by Brenda Tucker
Matthew Baranauskas and Molly Ackerman-Brimberg, two recent graduates from CCA’s Graduate Program in Design, made helping the disabled in the East Bay city of Richmond into a thesis project. They spent more than a year working with the National Institute of Art and Disabilities (NIAD) and creating an exhibition, CCA Design for Disability: Alternative Ways of Making, which is on view through August 23.
Since 1982 NIAD has served mentally and physically disabled artists in the local community, providing them with innovative tools and materials and a space where they can create not only paintings and drawings, but also jewelry, prints, ceramics, textiles, and sculpture. The program encourages independence, artistic creativity, and community. Holding at least four exhibitions a year, NIAD also exposes the artists’ work to the public and makes it available for purchase.
The CCA students concentrated on creating new tools that spoke not only to the needs of the disabled, but also to those of the able-bodied. Baranauskas explains, “Working with NIAD has given me a deeper understanding of, and empathy for, the ‘disabled experience.’ I've come to believe that it is poor design that really disables people, and that designers should always search for the ability within a disability.”
He made several new tools and prototypes that NIAD artists could use to enhance their art-making experiences. One of his creations is a soundboard mechanism that enables the artist to hear each mark being made while drawing or painting. This is especially helpful for artists who are sensitive to distraction, enabling them to focus more effectively. Baranauskas also created a collage roller and a collage stamp, which are rolled over printed images (for instance in a book or magazine) and then reproduce the image digitally on a screen.
Ackerman-Brimberg centered her project on one NIAD client in particular, Mia Brown. Brown is a paraplegic and only able to create art using tools attached to a helmet. Ackerman-Brimberg developed various advanced instruments that can be attached to her helmet to enhance her art experience. One has a brush protruding from the front that retracts when she is not in process of creating. Ackerman-Brimberg also decorated and added multiple functions to some of her other headgear. One new helmet has built-in side pockets that help caregivers move her head more gently. Another has sensors that enable her to paint digitally using her head.
Both students graduated in May 2009 and intend to continue making instruments that are inspired by the needs of the disabled, but can be useful to anyone. Baranauskas believes that “when designers gain a deeper understanding of a disabled person’s experience of the world, they may begin to see an impairment as something other than a diminishment of strength, value, or quality. This can be extremely valuable for both the design process and the end user.”
CCA Design for Disability: Alternative Ways of Making runs through August 23, 2009. See event details.
Related links:
CCA Design for Disability: Alternative Ways of Making Exhibition