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AHN INTERVIEW:
Tim Lefens, Founder of Artistic Realization Technologies (A.R.T.)
"It's what's inside that has the limitless power. When this is unleashed, healing takes place that clinicians never dreamed of. I've seen it everywhere we've gone. It works pretty much every time: a silent, despondent, vegetative child, then POOM! alive with joy. That's healing. And how the liberated child liberates the parents, and the school, and the community. That's healing." -Tim Lefens
Tim Lefens(left) with
artist Eric Corbin
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Tim Lefens is an artist, author of Flying Colors, and founder of the nonprofit organization, Artistic Realization Technologies (A.R.T.). Based in New Jersey, A.R.T. creates systems that enable the uncompromised creative self-expression of people with the most severe physical challenges. Most of their clients do not speak or have the use of their hands. As a consequence, their thoughts and feelings remain locked within. The key to their liberation lies in the power of art, not as therapy or recreation, but as a critical means of articulate self-expression. For the past six years, A.R.T. has developed and tested tools and techniques that allow a person with the most minimal ability to move to create subtle, exacting works of art. Danny Hobson interviewed Tim Lefens in November 2004.
Danny Hobson: Tell me about your background in the arts, Tim.
Tim Lefens: When I was a very little kid, during an illness I had an out of body experience. There were no visuals at all, just the feeling of limitlessly expanding freedom. It was so good I didn't want to come back. And when I did, things around me seemed somehow fake, like props, or things that belonged to someone other than me. From then on I looked for things that would touch the feeling I'd had without a body, and the drawings I made attracted oooo's and ahhhh's from adults. Through grade school I continued to draw but felt a nagging sense there was a way to make art that would leap over the superficial appearance of physical objects. Half way through high school two big things happened. First, I discovered modern art, and second, I met the artist Roy Lichtenstein, who acted as an excellent mentor. After art school, I pushed on with my paintings, got a number of solo shows in Manhattan, linked up with some really awesome painters and critic-mentors like Clement Greenberg, whose 'formalist' approach to making art helped when it came time for A.R.T. The whole time my main interest was abstraction, not looking for the light that falls on objects but the one we sense inside ourselves.
Danny: And what inspired the creation of Artistic Realization Technologies (A.R.T.)?
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Flying Colors is Tim Lefens'
inspirational book about
the creation of A.R.T. and the
healing power of art.
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Tim: Over ten years ago, I got invited to show slides of my work to some kids at a school. That one hour in that school changed my life. The kids there had the most severe, multiple physical challenges. All of them were in wheelchairs, almost all unable to walk, talk or use their hands. It was like I'd entered another world.
Inside that institution I saw three things. First, the kids were being treated in a patronizing manner, spoken to with the tone of voice we reserve for infants or pets. Second, I was shocked by what I saw in the students' eyes. They were acutely alive, looking silently to me, asking with their eyes, "Do you see us?" And they saw I saw them. The third thing was the students' art projects. There were piles of them in this little room, all made of big chunks of broken styrofoam, glued randomly back together then drizzled with diluted red paint. The students had had nothing to do with making these grotesque things. They had no hand strength to bust up big chunks of styrofoam, a material that breaks in a random, uncontrollable way, and the material itself, styrofoam, is imbued with the nasty sense of the industrial world. The teacher had projected his or her sense of "brokenness," of pathos, onto the students. That's pretty much when I thought about A.R.T., not yet as an organization but its core idea, which was based on the simple question: "How could you make real art, with one hundred percent fidelity to your vision if you cannot walk, talk or use your hands?"
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Danny: Describe some of the techniques you have developed for working with the physically challenged?
An artist uses the laser to create a painting with the help of a tracker.
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Tim: The first technique, developed in 1992, involved the artists using their wheelchairs as powertools or drawing tools, driving over large canvases loaded with paint placed at the artist's direction. This was a radical success but had its clear limits. For example the artist cannot stop a line in the middle of the canvas but must draw the wheels off the canvas.
Although the wheel paintings were well received, the artists dropped the technique like a lead brick the moment I got the idea for the laser. By head-mounting a laser to the artist, an all but immobile artist can draw by simply looking. The light, drawn on the canvas, can be tracked by another person with individually blended colors chosen by the artist. This was a huge breakthrough. The light was like a finger reaching out to touch the canvas. It could be used for both slow, careful effects as well as huge canvases torn with furious energy.
Danny: Tell me more about A.R.T. What are its goals?
Tim: A.R.T. offers intensive training workshops which leave staff able to operate an art program using our techniques. Our goal is to share our program with all those who would benefit from its creative power. And beyond the very personal liberation that comes to those who use A.R.T. techniques, A.R.T. also sees that society as a whole needs to find a new way of seeing the people we work with. Changing the way society sees is one of our goals, and after ten years it's beginning to happen, here and there around the country.
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Danny: What has been the impact of the A.R.T. process on the students you work with?
Tim: It would not be an overstatement to describe the effect as profound. Kids who were passive, silent, void of any creative expression, leap from the bottom of societal esteem to the top. Once utterly rejected, they are now seen as unique, serious, powerful artists, not only contributing to our society but in some ways leading it.
They have shown their work at major galleries and museums in New York City. Attending their openings, they see how powerfully their work effects those who see it. We regularly see health benefits clinicians had told us would not be possible. A.R.T. artists rise from severe despondency to assert themselves; in other words, they come to life. Where they slumped, eyes closed, for years in a row, once they get the power to express themselves with full control over the creative process, they sit up straight, begin to communicate, not just practical needs, but dreams for their future. Hope and art are stronger than drugs. All the A.R.T. artists exercise intense concentration on their body of work and its possibilities for being shared.
A painting created using A.R.T. techniques
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Danny: What have been some of the greatest moments of inspiration in your work with A.R.T.?
Tim: I guess the very best, most intense is working with kids the staff have written off, and BING! the kid breaks out. There is no doubt the kid's in total charge of the materials and their exact placement, and out comes this seriously great painting. That's fantastic. Some kids faint with the rush of having transcended the past limits of their bodies. Some scream with joy. Some quietly fix the staff with their eyes then look to their first painting.
Danny: Could you share a specific example of a student who benefited from the creative process?
Tim: I have a hundred equally moving stories concerning the young people we've worked with. A nine year-old we worked with said her first word for us. Treating her as a colleague, we asked her what technique she wanted to use. After having watched her fellow students at work, the young girl was excited to go for it. She concentrated hard then said, "LaÉlaÉlaser." Her grade school teacher jumped to her feet, her hands over her heart she ran from the room. When the teacher returned I asked, "Are you all right? What happened?" "She," the teacher blinked, "doesn't talk. She does now."
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Danny: Your book, Flying Colors, is such a vivid and engaging account of creating A.R.T. Tell me a little about the process of writing your book.
A painting created using A.R.T. tools
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Tim: When I realized many people in the greater community did not fully grasp pure abstraction and thus were not appreciating the depth of power the artists were expressing, I figured I might best communicate to them with words. One of A.R.T.'s board members, Pulitzer Prize winning author John McPhee, gave me the ultimate advice, "Write it the way you talk."
Writing the book was deep, scary psycho-therapy. I learned a lot about myself. I saw the anger I held against "the system," and seeing how poorly this appeared on the page, I worked to let it go from inside myself with some degree of success. I also learned the pleasure of playing with words, messing around with the structure you need to present a complex subject simply and clearly.
Danny: And what has been the impact of the book on your organization?
Tim: The book has been what people call "a dream come true" in that the dream was that the book would help start new programs around the country and around the world. This it has done and is doing. An exciting recent example is how former New Jersey governor Christie Todd Whitman read it, called to volunteer to help A.R.T., hosted an exhibition in Princeton, and then went to the president of Princeton University, and the next thing you know A.R.T. had a home with the Princeton Art Department, our own beautiful studio.
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Danny: What excites you most right now about A.R.T?
Tim: I'm really pumped for a few things we have cooking. We're headed out to work with the Navajos and a documentary film crew is coming along. Traditionally no people took painting more seriously, with more healing powers, than the Navajos. I am also fired up to grow our program with Princeton University, to get A.R.T. going on the west coast, and to launch our new tools and techniques, such as music and photography. I can't wait to see what the artists will do with music.
Danny: How do you sustain the great work you are doing...creatively, emotionally, and financially?
 Tim: A key question, that emotional part, Danny. After ten years of running around with my hair on fire you can hit a wall. I actually revived myself by getting back into my own painting. And the A.R.T. artists always get me bucked up. They've got such chutzpah.
As to the financial support, it's been sketchy, because we're a small group and because the population we serve is off the radar. Things have gotten better since we linked up with Princeton and received grants from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Kessler Foundation, and the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation -- enough money to run the Princeton program for a year. Artist Robert Rauschenberg gave us his foundation's teaching award. Next year we'll see where the money comes from.
Danny: Do you believe art can heal and if yes, how?
Tim: Certainly I do. Forever I've sensed our minds, spirits, hearts, and souls are the source of our well being as opposed to the owning of material objects or vain activities. It's what's inside that counts. It's what's inside that has the limitless power. When this is unleashed, healing takes place that clinicians never dreamed of. I've seen it everywhere we've gone. It works pretty much every time: a silent, despondent, vegetative child, then POOM! alive with joy. That's healing. And how the liberated child liberates the parents, and the school, and the community. That's healing.
Danny: What advice do you have for other artists wishing to use their talents to help others?
Tim: The secret, if you're going to work with someone with serious physical, neurological challenges, is to remain neutral. This is key. You have to stay completely clear of their creative process. This will allow the person you're working with to emerge. Drop the pathos, the do-gooder attitude. Refrain from a collaborative role, and instead let the person have, for once, total control of their own work of art. Take the person as seriously as you do yourself. Make sure the artist is satisfied with every aspect of their work. Ask them. Keep the faith that every single person you work with has an interior life with unlimited potential.
To learn more about A.R.T., please visit their web site at www.artrealization.org
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FEATURED VIDEO
Beyond Boundaries: The Fe Fe Stories
"Holding a camera made me feel I
was in control. It was like, I can
handle this. This is cool." -Chaka Stovall
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When was the last time you saw a positive (or even negative) image in the media of a teenage girl with disabilities? It wouldn't surprise the Empowered Fe Fes (slang for female) to hear that you can't remember. So, rather than wait for a reflection of themselves to show up in the media, the Fe Fes, a diverse group of 12 young females with disabilities, created their own video instead. This documentary explores the difference between how they see themselves and how others see them. Their revelations are humorous, thought provoking and surprising. As the young women grapple with issues as diverse as access, education, employment, sexuality and growing up with disabilities, they address their audience with a sense of urgency, as if to say, "I need to tell you so you'll see me differently." This video is a wonderful example of how filmmaking can be a tool for self-knowledge and for promoting greater understanding. To order a copy of this 26 minute film on VHS or DVD, please visit Beyond Media.
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FEATURED BOOK
Putting Creativity to Work: Careers in the Arts for People with Disabilities
Produced by VSA arts. Edited and written by Paul Scribner.
"My greatest hope is that this book will enlighten and encourage a vast new legion of aspiring artists to chart their course and follow their dream, regardless of disability. I further hope this book will serve as a beacon to light the way to high-quality careers that celebrate the creative abilities and diverse viewpoints of the disabled community." - VSA arts Board Member Randy Souders
This book is a complete blueprint for the person with disability who aspires to a career and livelihood in the arts. Whether interested in performance arts, painting, or any one of the supporting roles that go into producing a good story, book, play, painting, dance, film, or other work of art, aspiring artists will find an exhaustive list of the kinds of careers and jobs available in the arts. The biographical sketches of various working artists with disabilities give personal inspiration to anyone with a creative gift. While providing abundant encouragement, the guide is even stronger in its practical presentation of the career development process, including resume, portfolio presentation and practical tips on interviews and auditions. There is also detailed information on Supplemental Social Security Income recipients, Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries, and financial aid and scholarship resources. The Appendix includes a comprehensive directory of arts organizations nationwide and a review of the rights of job seekers under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This paperback book has 382 pages and was published by VSA arts in 2000. It is also available as a pdf file you can download to your computer. This book is FREE through VSA arts. To find out how to get a copy, please visit www.vsarts.org/x630.xml
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FEATURED LINK
Creativity Explored in San Francisco, CA
www.creativityexplored.org
Creativity Explored enables adults with developmental disabilities to express themselves artistically in a way that is personally rewarding and appreciated by others. Creativity Explored has two centers in San Francisco, CA and their member artists come from diverse backgrounds with a wide variety and range of experience, ability, and sensibilities. At Creativity Explored, visual art is a language everyone can use to share culture, to share experience, and to share feelings. Uncensored self-expression is both encouraged and celebrated. The result is art that is fresh, exciting, and innovative. Creativity Explored invites you to share in their collective experience, to participate in their community, and to benefit from the significant contributions made by artists with disabilities to the cultural life of the broader community. Please visit their web site to learn more at www.creativityexplored.org
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FEATURED LINK
Breath & Shadow: A Journal of Disability Culture and Literature
www.abilitymaine.org/breath
 Breath & Shadow is a monthly journal of disability culture and literature. A project of AbilityMaine, Breath & Shadow is the only online literary journal with a focus on disability. It is also unique in being the sole cross-disability literature and culture magazine written and edited entirely by people with disabilities. While some literary journals may devote one issue in a year, or ten years, to the disability experience, in Breath & Shadow you will find poetry, fiction, essays, interviews, drama, and other writing that examines the human experience of living with disability in every single issue.
The editors of Breath & Shadow believe that personhood in the land of disability can and should be presented in its multiplicity. Thus, diversity of writing style, content, genre, and category, as well as author demographics, is a goal for each issue. From haiku to slam poem to sestina; from humor essays to memoirs to reviews and commentary; from science fiction to flash fiction to suspense; from interviews with national disability rights leaders to profiles of children's theater companies, their journal showcases writing by people with disabilities in all its power, complexity, and breadth.
To read their current issue, visit www.abilitymaine.org/breath
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READERS RESPOND
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