Esref Armagan
Encyclopedia
Eşref Armağan is a blind painter of Turkish origin. He was born both unsighted and to an impoverished family. As a child and young adult he never received any formal schooling or training; however, he has taught himself to write and print. He draws and paints by using his hands and primarily oil paints. In this manner, Mr. Armagan has been perfecting his art
for the past thirty-five years.
He needs absolute quiet when working. First, using a Braille
stylus, he etches an outline of his drawing. He needs to feel that he is "inside" his painting - for example, when he is drawing a picture of the sea, he often wonders if he should wear a life jacket so as not to drown. When he is satisfied with his drawing, he starts to apply the oils with his fingers. Because he applies only one color at a time (the colors would smear otherwise), he must wait two or three days for the color to dry before applying the next color. This method of painting is entirely unique to Mr. Armagan. He receives no assistance or training from any individual. He also learned to draw perspective
.
He has also developed his own methods of doing portraits. He asks a sighted person to draw around a photograph, then he turns the paper over and feeling it with his left hand
, he transfers what he feels onto another sheet of paper, later adding color. He has done portraits of the former first lady of Turkey, the current president and current prime minister.
In 2008 two researchers from Harvard, Dr. Amir Amedi and Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone, tried to find more about neural plasticity using Mr. Armagan as a study case.
Both scientists had evidence that in cases of blindness, the "visual" cortex
acts differently than how it acts with the non-blind.
Pascual-Leone has found that Braille readers use this very same area for touch.
Amedi, together (with Ehud Zohary) at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, found that the area is also activated in verbal memory tasks.
When Amedi analyzed the results, however, he found that Armagan's visual cortex lit up during the drawing task, but hardly at all for verbal recall, meaning that some unused visual areas might be used in collaboration with ones needs from the brain.
Moreover in scans that were held while Armagan drew, his visual cortex signals seemed as he was seeing to the extent that a naive viewer of his scan might assume Armagan really could see.
Mr. Armagan is married with two children. He has displayed his work at more than 20 exhibitions in Turkey
, Italy
, China
, Holland and the Czech Republic. He has appeared several times on television
and in the press in Turkey and has been on programs on BBC
and ZD. In 2004, he was the subject of a study of human perception, conducted by the psychologist
John Kennedy of University of Toronto
.
In 2009 Armağan was invited by Volvo
, to paint the new model S60. As it was not meant for a TV-commercial, more of a community "PR-trick", Volvo made a series of documentaries, posted on Volvo's Facebook page, where Armağan paints the S60, as well as single parts, wished by community. The painting was for sale on Ebay
, and sold for US $3,050. The Canadian non-profit charity organization World Blind Union (WBU)
was the benefactor of the auction.
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
for the past thirty-five years.
He needs absolute quiet when working. First, using a Braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
stylus, he etches an outline of his drawing. He needs to feel that he is "inside" his painting - for example, when he is drawing a picture of the sea, he often wonders if he should wear a life jacket so as not to drown. When he is satisfied with his drawing, he starts to apply the oils with his fingers. Because he applies only one color at a time (the colors would smear otherwise), he must wait two or three days for the color to dry before applying the next color. This method of painting is entirely unique to Mr. Armagan. He receives no assistance or training from any individual. He also learned to draw perspective
Perspective (visual)
Perspective, in context of vision and visual perception, is the way in which objects appear to the eye based on their spatial attributes; or their dimensions and the position of the eye relative to the objects...
.
He has also developed his own methods of doing portraits. He asks a sighted person to draw around a photograph, then he turns the paper over and feeling it with his left hand
Hand
A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered extremity located at the end of an arm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs...
, he transfers what he feels onto another sheet of paper, later adding color. He has done portraits of the former first lady of Turkey, the current president and current prime minister.
In 2008 two researchers from Harvard, Dr. Amir Amedi and Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone, tried to find more about neural plasticity using Mr. Armagan as a study case.
Both scientists had evidence that in cases of blindness, the "visual" cortex
Visual cortex
The visual cortex of the brain is the part of the cerebral cortex responsible for processing visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe, in the back of the brain....
acts differently than how it acts with the non-blind.
Pascual-Leone has found that Braille readers use this very same area for touch.
Amedi, together (with Ehud Zohary) at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, found that the area is also activated in verbal memory tasks.
When Amedi analyzed the results, however, he found that Armagan's visual cortex lit up during the drawing task, but hardly at all for verbal recall, meaning that some unused visual areas might be used in collaboration with ones needs from the brain.
Moreover in scans that were held while Armagan drew, his visual cortex signals seemed as he was seeing to the extent that a naive viewer of his scan might assume Armagan really could see.
Mr. Armagan is married with two children. He has displayed his work at more than 20 exhibitions in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Holland and the Czech Republic. He has appeared several times on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and in the press in Turkey and has been on programs on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and ZD. In 2004, he was the subject of a study of human perception, conducted by the psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
John Kennedy of University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
.
In 2009 Armağan was invited by Volvo
Volvo
AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
, to paint the new model S60. As it was not meant for a TV-commercial, more of a community "PR-trick", Volvo made a series of documentaries, posted on Volvo's Facebook page, where Armağan paints the S60, as well as single parts, wished by community. The painting was for sale on Ebay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
, and sold for US $3,050. The Canadian non-profit charity organization World Blind Union (WBU)
World Blind Union
The World Blind Union is an organisation of blind and partially sighted persons of the world, representing 180 million blind and visually impaired persons from about 600 different organisations in 158 countries....
was the benefactor of the auction.
Sources
- Official Sites http://www.esrefarmagan.com, http://www.armagan.com/
- Senses special: The art of seeing without sight The New Scientist 29 January 2005 http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg18524841.700
- Kennedy, John's study at the University of TorontoUniversity of TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
.http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:kGt2SGtVCMkJ:www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~kennedy/2007chapter.pdf+%22esref+armagan&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=28&gl=us - Volvo commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CNx3qTI8xA
- Слепой художник Эшреф Армаган
- Esref Armagan: History, photographs, how to buy his art. Also links to science journals, articles, and videos.
Further reading
- John's Kennedy's Drawing and the Blind (New Haven: Yale UP, 1993).