In 1998 my youngest brother, Kelton, was diagnosed with autism, a developmental disability that affects communication and social interaction. Autism currently affects 1/88 people in the United States. Kelton is a talented individual who runs cross-country and track, wrestles, plays the drums, loves history, and collects bobble heads and keychains.

This year Kelton decided to enroll in his first art class where he discovered his skill for drawing. His unorthodox style made me reconsider my artwork and examine the differences and similarities that exist between our perspectives. According to Paul Collins’ Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism, artists are four times more likely to have autism in their families. Considering the number of artists in my family, this statistic made me question the similarities that exist between Kelton and me. For this reason, we have decided to draw one of his 6,481 keychains a day for one year. These drawings will be as simple and uninhibited as possible. This project will explore our individual perspectives and examine the similarities that exist between us as artists.

Day 184


I found an explanation about collections in Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome and thought it was perfect for Kelt and the blog:

"Many Asperger Syndrome (AS) people, if not all, become very attached to certain things. That's what I mean by a collection. Lots of us like to have sets of things that we can organize and categorize and line up. It's not only an AS thing, I just think that it means something slightly different for AS people. In general I would say that collecting something is a pretty harmless way of feeling secure and no one should stop anyone from doing this. Organizing something is a wonderful way of shaking off the feeling of chaos that comes from living in such a disorganized world" (50).

Last summer I worked with a boy with autism that constantly drew vinegar bottles. He was nonverbal so I never learned why, but thought the drawings were fascinating. It's a little different than a collection, but creates the same feelings of repetition and security.



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1 comment:

  1. Adelaide DupontMarch 22, 2011 at 2:14 AM

    I love vinegar as well.

    The curves and the lines in the bottles really speak to me.

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