Musicians That Are Blind Or Blind Musicians: Representations Of Sensory Compensation In Art History [músicos Cegos Ou Cegos Músicos: Representações De Compensação Sensorial Na História Da Arte]

Representations of blind musicians have been a recurring theme among artists since Antiquity. A survey of artworks uncovered nearly 160 portrayals of visual impairment, of which 25 represented blind musicians. This paper presents a historical description of conceptions of blind musicians based on these depictions covering several centuries. The analysis of the concentration of harpists in Antiquity, hurdy-gurdy players from the Middle Ages to the Baroque, violinists and guitar players from the 17th to the 19th century and the emergence of the accordion by the mid 19th century enables us to reflect on the fluctuating role of blind musicians in society, depending on prevailing stereotypes. Analyzing visual cues in artwork shows how musicians that are blind often play the role of blind musicians, working in poverty, on the fringe of society where their musical performance makes begging a legitimate business. The conceit of sensory compensation for loss of sight through heightened hearing is also explored.2875245266PESSOA, A., para, que nasce. Direção Roberto Berliner. São Paulo: Estúdio Europa (2006), o, 1 DVD 84 min, DVD, son, colorAMEDI, A.MERABET, L.B.BERMPOHL, F.PASCUAL-LEONE, A. The occipital cortex in the blind. Lessons about plasticity and vision. Current Directions in Psychological Science, Washington, DC, v. 14, n. 6, p. 306-311, 2005BOURDIEU, P., DARBEL, A., (2003) O amor pela arte, , os museus de arte na Europa e seu público. Trad. de Guilherme João de Freitas Teixeira. São Paulo: EDUSPZOUKBROCK, J.F. Four surveyors of the gods: in the XVIII dynasty-New Kingdom c. 1400 b.C. In: American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, 2006, Orlando Florida, EUA. Annals of the 2006 ACMS Conference, Orlando, Florida, Professional Surveyor Magazine 2006. p. 1-16BROWN, K.B., The social liminality of musicians: Case studies from Mughal India and beyond (2007) Twentieth-Century Music, 3 (1), pp. 13-49. , Cambridge, vDIJKSTRA, B. American expressionism: art and social change 1920-1950. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2003GILMAN, S.L., (1994) Disease and representation: Images of illness from madness to AIDS, , Ithaca, NY: Cornell University PressGREEN, R.A., (1995) The hurdy-gurdy in eighteenth-century France, , Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University PressHAMILTON, R.H., PASCUAL-LEONE, A., SCHLAUG, G., Absolute pitch in blind musicians: Auditory and vestibular systems (2004) Neuroreport, 15 (5), pp. 803-806. , London, vKIDULA, J., Polishing the luster of the stars: Music professionalism made workable in Kenya (2000) Ethnomusicology, 44 (3), pp. 408-428. , Bloomingoton, vKUBIK, G., Xylophone playing in Southern Uganda (1964) The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 94 (2), pp. 138-159. , London, vLANG, H.G., MEATH-LANG, B., (1995) A biographical dictionary: Deaf persons in the Arts and Sciences, , London: Greenwood PressLINTON, S., (1998) Claiming disability: Knowledge and identity, , New York: New York University PressOTTENBERG, S., (1996) Seeing with music: The lives of three blind African Musicians, , Washington, DC: University of Washington PressPRING, L., OCKELFORD, A., Children with septo-optic dysplasia - musical interests, abilities and provision: The results of a parental survey (2005) British Journal of Visual Impairment, Birminghim, UK, 23 (2), pp. 58-66ROSS, D.A., OLSON, I.R., GORE, J.C., Cortical plasticity in an early blind musician: An fMRI study (2003) Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 21 (7), pp. 821-828. , New York, vRUSSELL, J.M., (1991) Sennacherib's palace without rival at Nineveh, , Chicago: University of Chicago PressTSUGE, G., Symbolic Techniques in Japanese Koto-Kumiuta (1981) Asian Music, 12 (2), pp. 109-132. , University of Texas,