Dark Light

“I slip photos under the door from the world of the blind to be viewed in the light of the sighted. I view my work during the event of taking the shot in my minds eye. I “see” each shot very clearly, only I use sound, touch, and memory. I am more of a conceptual artist than a photographer. My influences come from my past memory of art and what I now find in the world at large,” Pete Eckert.

If you ask photographers about what sense they would want to keep the most, the majority, if not all, will say sight. For an artist, vision is a priceless gift.

Last week, I watched a documentary film called “Dark Light: Art of Blind Photographers.” This film presented the amazing work of Pete Eckert, Bruce Hall and Henry Butler. These three photographers are blind, by definition of their physical eyes. The film was so inspiring and touching. It let me realize passion is stronger than disability. How can a blind person be a photographer? There is one answer; it is the “fascination” with the thing you love to do, regardless of all obstacles.

Of the three, Pete Eckert’s work was the one that amazed me the most. He became blind in his mid-age due to an eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa. He makes his images through touch, sound and the memory he formed before losing his sight. According to him, “Sound gives an image just like light gives an image… My work is a byproduct of learning how to see again using sound.”

After being inspired by him, I recently added Pete Eckert to my favorite photographers list. I do not mind watching his work again and again, as I never get tired of looking at his pictures. His work entertains the eyes and feeds the mind. It allows me to learn. Only when we surrender to disability, we are “disabled.”