A Touching Exhibition for the Visually Impaired

An exhibition at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art is targeted on a special group of museumgoers: the visually impaired. On display are 15 “lifecasts”--moldings or castings of the human body--designed to be explored by touch.

The exhibition, “Please Touch,” includes the faces of such personalities as Paul Newman, Michael J. Fox, Helen Hayes, Isaac Stern, Stevie Wonder, Christie Brinkley and Brooke Shields. Also included are Muhammad Ali’s fist and ballerina Natalia Makarova’s foot en pointe .

The works were created by artist Willa Shalit, who studied classical history at Oberlin College in Ohio and first learned lifecasting to make theatrical masks. The artist then refined the technique to meet her own goal of helping to open new sensory doors for the blind. In 1986 she helped form the Touch Foundation, which is dedicated to mounting “touch” exhibitions nationally.

“I love having my work viewed by touch,” said the Santa Fe-based Shalit. “I think that being denied art would be a kind of torture, so I’m really committed to opening doors and allowing people access.”

The exhibition, which runs through Jan. 12, is not only for the visually impaired, however. The museum’s curator of education, Deborah Tufts, hopes the show will also raise community awareness. “It will give sighted people an opportunity to appreciate the limitations the visually impaired experience,” she said.

ARTS ADMINISTRATORS: The California Arts Council is urging arts managers to enter a pool for possible future employment as associate arts grants administrators or assistant arts grants administrators. Those interested in such a post must file applications with the State Personnel Board by Thursday to take the Arts Grants Administrator Exam, an in-depth interview scheduled for January and/or February. Taking the exam will place an applicant in a long-term hiring pool; the exam will not be given again for at least two years. For an application, call (213) 620-3242.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: The Venice Family Clinic’s Art Walk ’90 has invited Southern California artists to submit designs for the Art Walk ’90 T-shirt. The winning image will be featured on a billboard during May. The images must incorporate the words “Venice Family Clinic Art Walk ’90.” Only one entry per person will be accepted, and the entry deadline is Dec. 6. Previous Art Walk T-shirt artists have included Carlos Almaraz, Billy Al Bengston, Jonathan Borofsky and Laddie John Dill. For information, call (213) 392-8630. . . . UC Riverside’s California Museum of Photography is seeking participants for its seventh annual Christmas Card Show, Dec. 1 through Jan. 7. Photograph-based cards in any size, using any photographic process, will be accepted. For more information, call (714) 784-FOTO or (714) 787-4787.

NOTES: An overview of ancient drawings left on cave walls and rocks of the desert will be presented Saturday in a one-day seminar at UCLA. “Rock Art of the California Deserts: Exploring the Prehistoric Art of Our Region,” will be taught by rock art specialist Anne Q. Duffield from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 130, Kinsey Hall. The enrollment fee is $75. For information, call (213) 206-8503. . . . A series of four films that artist Robert Longo feels have been influential in his works will be shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art this month. “Imitation of Life” (1959) and “The Shining” (1980) will be shown Tuesday, and “Sweet Smell of Success” (1957) and “Road Warrior” (1981) will be shown Nov. 21. Both screenings begin at 7 p.m., and tickets are $6; $3.50 for museum members, students and senior citizens. . . . The Los Angeles Tribal and Folk Art Show will be held Saturday and next Sunday at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The show, put on by the Antique Tribal Art Dealers Assn., will feature 100 dealers of pre-1940 folk and tribal arts. In addition, the association will have a booth displaying fake works, and staff members will explain the problems and pitfalls of collecting tribal art. Admission is $6, and the show will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday.