Ann Silver: Deaf Artist Series

by James W. Van Manen

Ann Deaf Artist Series by Dandelion Press (dandelion.press), is about Ann Silver, a Deaf Pop artist who works in the Deaf Art/De’VIA (Deaf View/Image Art) genre. Its pages are filled with vibrant images of Silver’s compelling artwork, along with descriptions of art and biography. While barely 20 and an undergraduate, along with a few others, she started the Deaf Art Movement. The book includes a timeline of the Deaf Art Movement (DAM) from 1968-1989 and gives compelling evidence of the strong foundation that the DAM created for the small group that created the De’VIA Manifesto in 1989. She has been involved in many types of artwork, so many that some readers may think the book is about several artists. Indeed, the majority of the artwork in the book was created by her. This book is an art biography because it is about her art, but it is also about her life. It reads in chronological format, starting with her birth and leads the reader through various stages in her life and artwork up to the present.In the book, Van Manen not only explains much about her art and life. Ann Deaf Artist Series is a wonderful educational resource for art enthusiasts, and for aspiring artists, and for people interested in Deaf Culture or Deaf Art / De’VIA art. This series brings attention to the artwork and lives of contemporary Deaf visual artists who are important to the Deaf Art Movement and De’VIA (Deaf View / Image Art). These are Deaf artists who place a perspective on their artwork which relates to American Sign Language, Deaf heritage and Deaf culture. Each book contains biography, art interpretation and some art description. The availability of this important series offers readers an insight into the world of culturally Deaf people through their artists. Furthermore, the series serves as an useful guide for

210 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2014

Reviews

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Read this for my current ASL class, had a good time learning about one of the most influential Deaf artists as of late. The book offers great insight into the life of Silver, as well as, I think, a very good look at the evolving attitudes of Deaf culture/the Deaf community, and how Deaf people used to be treated (and sometimes still are treated) by the hearing and medical community at large.

I've been lucky to meet Silver a few times myself, and she's always great to talk to and ask questions about her art, her life, and this book. I do think some of the things she did in the past, as discussed in the book, were a product of the time and culturally insensitive, or even appropriation, but it seems like her attitudes have evolved with the times, and so has her artwork.

This was a good book, and a good place to learn about Deaf art and (some of) its history if you're interested in that.

[James Manen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not a new edition of the previous Ann Silver: One Way Deaf Way book, but does contain most of the same chapters and information. The title has been changed and new information about the Deaf Art Movement (DAM) timeline from 1968-1989 has been added. It also contains new artwork created since 2012. It was a pleasure making this book and I hope you enjoy it.