Art of the Eye.

Art of the Eye, an exhibition on vision, is a collection of 52 pieces of multimedia works of art created by artists who are visually impaired. The Jackson Area Delta Gamma Alumnae Chapter will present the Art of the Eye exhibition in Jackson October 13 through December 9 at the Mississippi Museum of Art after its tour from June 28 to September 8 in Rochester, New York.

Art of the Eye premiered in 1986 at the Minnesota Museum of American Art in St. Paul and was created by Minnesota sculptor Scott Nelson, who at age 25 was diagnosed with a visual impairment. This exhibition explores art in a variety of media such as drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, mixed media, and photography through the eyes of artists who have visual impairments such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, monocular vision, detached retina, cataract, color deficiency, and total blindness. Three-dimensional sculptures allow others who are visually impaired to partake in the exhibit through sense of touch. With this exhibit, artists and sponsors aim to educate others about the relationship between art and vision. Many world-famous artists throughout history have suffered from visual disorders, such as Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Honore Daumier.

Tara Arlene Innmon, also a Minnesota artist and painter of the work shown here, was diagnosed with Infantile Glaucoma at two days old. After undergoing several surgeries, she had useful but limited sight. She saw double images surrounded with auras. Today, she senses light, but is unable to recognize details. Tara's four works in pastel, displayed in the exhibit, detail her final months of sight in the waiting room of her ophthalmologist from the perspective of the same chair.

Art of the Eye is sponsored by the Jackson Area Delta Gamma Alumnae Chapter. Proceeds go to the Mississippi Museum of Art and to the Delta Gamma Foundation for efforts in sight preservation and aid to the blind.

Delta Gamma Fraternity was founded in 1873 in Kosciusko at the Lewis School for Girls, and has collegiate chapters at Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and the University of Southern Mississippi, as well as nearly 140 chapters on college campuses across the United States and Canada.

Each year, driven by the knowledge that half of all blindness can be prevented, the Delta Gamma Foundation raises more than $1 million dollars for sight preservation programs and other philanthropies.