The Edinburgh Art Festival will be showcasing photographs taken by a blind woman.
Stunts like this are typical of the arts world now. It's so dominated by identity and victim politics that other factors (like merit, for instance) hardly get a look in.
The woman is certainly gutsy for doing what she does. The fact that she hasn't let blindness blight her life, and she gets out and takes photos is admirable. But where's the skill?
Not only can she not see what she's photographing; she can't see the photos she's taken. So how can she alter, control and refine these photos in an artistic way?
She is certainly making a political point and good on her for that. But there's nothing artistic in this and an arts festival is the wrong place to promote what she does.
Then there's the issue of criticism: No one would dare pass harsh judgement on her work. Imagine the outrage if they did! Given the sanctimonious and ultra-politically correct culture of the arts world, I suspect only other blind people would be considered qualified to venture a critical opinion on her creations. And of course they couldn't do this since they wouldn't be able to see the photos either.
The whole thing is utterly ridiculous.
