Ann Silver: Deaf Artist Series

Ann Silver: Deaf Artist Series by Empyreal Press (empyrealpress.com), 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 Silver: 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