DETACHED RETINA

Description:

Early Works: Vision TINTED LIMESTONE WORKS  In 1976, Robin Antar suddenly discovered she was blind in one eye – and had been since birth. The retrolental fibroplasia that had compromised the vision in her right eye soon became an integral tool among the techniques she used to create her art. She created a series of pieces specifically on her experience with “unbalanced vision” which she perceives as an extraordinary gift. Images are visualized from the inside out, rather than the outside in, with the subject matter drawn from within her immediate line of vision. The interaction between her nose and cheekbone, for example, assumes magnified importance when seen at such close range. Aesthetic beauty and superficial thought were none of her concern as she focused on fundamental feelings and basic sensations, resulting in sculptures with an uncommon perspective, jarring color and anomalous form. The texture varies from gritty and annoying to smooth and soft. The grid format creates planes that shift in perspective and abstract the subject matter. The stones she used are tan, therefore allowing total control of the colors she selects as tints, not for beauty but rather to point out the statement being made. The color differentiations are harsh to intensify the plane and add conflict to the composition.

Robin Antar designed this piece 10 minutes before going into surgery for a detached retina.