INSTRUCTIONS: Seeing Beyond Sight has partnered with SFZero to challenge you to see the world differently - with more than your eyes.
Welcome new users: SFZero is an ongoing game in which you can choose to participate (or not) after you do the Seeing Beyond Sight Challenge.
Click here for new user registration.
1. Blindfold yourself.
(wear shades or tape your eyes shut)
2. Go out in public and make your way in the world.
(go 1 block, 1 hour or 1 roll of film; go with a friend or alone; make up your own process)
3. Photograph things you notice. And, just notice.
(What do you notice differently about objects, people, actions, interactions?)
4. Embrace the whole experience as much as the picture taking.
(Engage. Have a conversation with people you encounter. Take it all in.)
5. Share your story.
(For each photograph write a caption about your experience - a few lines or several paragraphs if you want.)
6. Challenge some friends to do it.
(email them the link: sf0.org/seeingbeyondsight)
Please don't post all the pictures from your shoot, but chose 1 to 3 that are the best images or are most telling of your experience. Caption the photos describing something about your experience - that is as important as the image itself. Longer stories are welcomed and may be added to www.seeingbeyondsight.org.
If you depend on your eyes to get around, then it is hard not to use them. Although you can tell us about how difficult it is to be blind, focus more on what you noticed about the world as you embarked on this journey.
This experience isn’t about blindness – it is about seeing, noticing and paying attention with more than your eyes.
This challenge was inspired by SEEING BEYOND SIGHT: PHOTOGRAPHY BY BLIND TEENAGERS, a new book published by Chronicle Books.
Ever since the actual event on May 5th in San Francisco, I've been able to use my camera. However, that night it was still broken, the lens not opening as a result of sand from the beach stuck in its mechanism.
"A group of artists, troublemakers and people who are just curious about the world played a street game of blind photography designed to challenge how they see."
That afternoon, I was busy but made it to the Rx Gallery just as the day was winding down. It's a good thing I wasn't blind when we got to the gallery. I've seen a good bit of graf art, trains, tags etc. in my time but this place is chock full of some serious work. It was overwhelming to see the equivalent of a Colossus of Spraypaint done up on the wall, something few people are capable of doing, in a real working art gallery and not in an abandoned forest.
It was still light outside but we didn't have too much time. My good friend J. Sizzle made it out so we could pair up. We almost had another complementary pair to join us, but they couldn't at the last minute. Luckily, AGENT KELLOGG was guarding the door, and as he was getting excited by all the blindfolded people, he elected to join us to make it a trio. There was a list of items we were supposed to seek out... but its been lost over these months. If anyone can post them that would be great - it was an interesting way to keep us sharp and seeking things out.
I. Blindfold Yourself
Yrs truly kept the blindfold off for the first round... we sidled out to Eddy St. and JS and Orion looped up their heads. The blindfolds were stretchy, kind of wierd, but they got the job done. We walked towards Market St., relying on touch, sound, and especially smell to get around and to avoid things.
II. Make Your Way
We decided an entertaining idea would be to move in the general direction of the BART station, the closest one being Powell, of course. Cyril Magnin comes right down (past the old haunts of the New Delhi!) and we got to its intersection in a few minutes. Orion had done this before, and even though I was guiding them both by talking and advising where they were (safety, etc.), JS was somewhat timid and clearly unaccustomed to venturing without reliance on his sight. Orion seemed a bit more confident - brash? - and willing to risk walking into a wall, parked car, the like.
III. Photograph
Orion had the video going strong, but left off to take photos after a bit. Joe caught a great one at the outset, perceiving that a cop car was approaching, and did a good job of timing the Doppler so he could snap one just as it reached 90 degrees to his person. We made our way into the plaza above the BART and descended stairs and elevators ever so gingerly til we got the the ticket center. Both Orion and JS were familiar enough with the ticket setup in the stations to be able to do it blindfolded without too much trouble. We then entered the tube by way of that gigantic two-level downscalator and arrived at the tracks.
IV. Embrace experience
Our intention had been to take the train out to the Mission or someplace comparably chaotic to the TL but time was passing quickly. The train was slow in coming, and our thoughts were on returning to the gallery with photo equipment before too long, and so we decided in the end to hit the mall rather than board a train. Next to the tracks, Orion was ready to give up the blindfold, so we made the switch. I donned the head wrap and also took the helm at his camera for the duration. We ascended once again and rather than leaving the BART we headed left into the hyperrealistic zone.
V. Documentation
The photos I took are, as of last news, living in Orion's memory card.
This is hereby a
challenge to Agent
Kellogg: Release
the blind fotos!
They are helpless and frightened.
I will edit this section if the photos ever make it out alive.
VI. Challenge some friends
I'll credit this part to inviting JS to SF0 - he was a first-timer. Being a person that works with international refugees, he identified heavily with group humanitarian CRISIS, but we've not been able to manage another collaboration since. I hope that soon we'll be able to put together another good evening of exploration on the physical and experiential fronts.
The photos posted here are a selection of J.Sizzle's work that evening. You can see that we passed down in the BART and then up through the mall. It was an experience like no other... especially when we regained sight and were able to open the electronic eyes of the camera at Sam's laptop.