Dorothy Miles

8 x 10 inches
Oil on canvas
July 2011
SOLD

Description:
This painting honors Dorothy Miles, a renowned Deaf poet from England who wrote in both British Sign Language and American Sign Language. In 1974, she described three categories of Deaf art, offering an early framework for understanding how Deaf artists express their identity and experiences through visual art. Her observations helped shape later discussions that eventually contributed to the development of Deaf View/Image Art (De’VIA).

She explained:

First category:
“We cannot distinguish that artworks are made by Deaf people. One would think they were made by hearing people, or anyone else. They may depict flowers, landscapes, portraits, or other subjects.”

Second category:
“We do not immediately recognize that the artworks were created by Deaf people, but we can see a connection to Deaf experiences. I have experienced the same feelings that the artist wishes to express through the work.”

Third category:
“We can easily recognize that this is Deaf Art because the artwork clearly reflects Deaf experiences and includes symbols associated with Deaf culture. These may include hands representing sign language, ears representing deafness and hearing, or mouths representing the era of oralism. Such symbols make it clear that these artworks were created by Deaf people.”

Dorothy Miles passed away in 1993, but her insight into Deaf art continues to influence Deaf artists and scholars. Her vision anticipated many of the ideas that would later become central to the De’VIA movement, making her an important figure in Deaf cultural history.