Thirteenth International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

Is art a question of perception? What happens when a blind or partially sighted person is confronted with a painting? Knowing that other senses can never replace that of sight, what procedures are implemented to compensate for this lack of information? Over the past several years, there has been a major change in museums as they now seek to reach a wider audience. Indeed, ocularity, which traditionally guided the approach of these cultural institutions, is no longer at the heart of their approach in terms of mediation. The emphasis is now on a so-called multisensorial approach in order to reach visitors who were once categorized as a non-public. However, given the great variability of the visual disorders listed, is it only plausible to consider a universal solution that can guarantee multisensory access to the painted works? Similarly, what would be the impact of adding a sound component knowing that some people have lost their sight from birth? Wouldn’t the lack of formal and common reference points be problematic in such a situation? With this research work, I demonstrate that tactile perception combined with multisensory translation of painted content could be a solution for the future. Although art remains subjective, would our understanding of it be a matter of perception?