Students didn’t need their eyes to appreciate the art at the 13th annual MindSight exhibit Saturday.
For the 60-plus visitors at the Harn Museum of Art, the exhibit was a sensory experience, and guests had the option of navigating the museum blindfolded to “see” the art through their other senses.
“It’s called MindSight because it’s a mind game for people with sight,” said Linda DiFranco, a featured artist who was the director of MindSight before it was turned over to the Gator Lions Club, an organization dedicated to helping the blind community.
The exhibit featured about 30 pieces of art and 13 plants.
Participants were able to listen to music, touch and smell plants, and feel the pieces of art.
Both the blind and blindfolded were led by student guides who described the plants and art.
“It was an out-of-body experience because it’s one of those experiences where you’re not relying on your usual senses,” said Mary Velasco, a UF nursing freshman. “What you would normally feel is heightened, and everything is more sensitive.”
Joel Weiss, a physics junior and president of the Gator Lions Club, said that about 15 percent of the participants were visually impaired.
For these guests, appreciating art with senses beyond vision is an everyday reality.
“People who are blind pick up what’s in the picture much faster than the non-blind,” said Elizabeth Hernandez, a student guide at the exhibit. “I even had one lady earlier who was blind say to me, ‘I see what you mean,’ as I was describing a painting.”
