ASL II 4.1 Deaf Art

4.1 Deaf Art

is unrecognizable as uniquely Deaf art. The artist has drawn something that does not indicate he or she is Deaf. Ex: a painting of wildflowers by a Deaf woman, or a Deaf student’s sketch of his pet snake.

​General Deaf artwork

is a general term that includes several different types of art. Some types of Deaf art have no noticeable differences from mainstream hearing art, while others are very distinct.

​Deaf art

From Visual Language to Visual Artwork

​The 1989 Deaf Way arts festival

A more specific type of Deaf art was officially recognized in May 1989. The Deaf Way arts festival was held at Gallaudet University. Betty Miller and Paul Johnston, two leading Deaf artists, decided to lead a conference for four days preceding the art festival. At this workshop, many discussions were held, and they agreed that art showing the Deaf experience should be specifically recognized as a component within Deaf culture. They defined this special type of artwork as De’VIA.

De’VIA and stands for Deaf View and Image Art. These types of artwork specifically show an element of the Deaf community or Deaf culture. To truly be considered De’VIA, the artist must be considered a member of the Deaf community.

​What is De'VIA?

Primarily, this is art created by Deaf and hard of hearing people about their experiences. Occasionally however, these artists could be hearing members of the Deaf community such as Children of Deaf Adults (CODAs) who want to express the Deaf experience through artwork.

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“AUDISM” BY VICKI CAMPOS HAMILTON

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Can include the following:

• focus on eyes, ears, and mouth representing communication 

• bright colors due to the Deaf community being so visual

• either a positive or negative theme

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​Specific Characteristics of De'VIA

" UNTITLED" BY BETTY G MILLER

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• tend to show elements of Deaf pride and use of ASL.

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​Positive Themes

"LOVE HANDS V.3" BY NANCY ROURKE

• tend to show oppression by the hearing community such as oralists' attempts to stop ASL.

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​Negative Themes

"AMESLAN PROHIBITED" BY BETTY G. MILLER​

Open Ended

Name and briefly describe the two main categories that Deaf artwork can fall into.

Dropdown

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Select answer

art is mainstream artwork created by Deaf and hard of hearing artists.

Multiple Choice

De'VIA represents....

• how easy it is to be Deaf.

• aspects of the Deaf experience.

• all artists and their experience.

• all of the above.