"Don't 'dis' the ability" 2008 - Featured Artists

World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD)

An art exhibition featuring works by prodigious autistic savants and individuals with autism:

For complete individual artist profiles click on artist's name

Gregory Blackstock ...recently retired as a dishwasher of over 25 years. He plays the accordion and the piano and has learned12 languages. Greg created the "Standard Time Chart of the World" which is accurate and easier to use than any calculator.

Susan Brown…began her grid-like drawings in the 1980’s around the same period that she began working as a dishwasher. Her art reflects an eclectic interest in portraiture, architecture, transportation, and landscapes.

Seth Chwast… Seth paints with focused intensity. Creating diverse imagery ranging from many-colored horses and spectacular landscapes with aurora skies and mysterious forests to rainforests, whales, fish and mythological animals, exotic birds, and iconic imagery of Manhattan, Seth finds new inspiration everywhere.

Dr. Temple Grandin…did not talk until she was three and a half years old. In 1950, she was labeled "autistic," and her parents were told she should be institutionalized. Temple Grandin is the most accomplished and well-known adult with autism in the world. She is a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University and is a designer of livestock handling facilities around the world.

Amanda LaMunyon (12 years old) …Amanda has Aspergers, dyslexia and dysgraphia. She has won many awards for her art. Amanda loves to sing.  At age 9, she began to paint her impression of the songs she loves.  

Jonathan Lerman…His mother describes him as a normal, happy child who began to 'slip away' into autism at about age 2. At age 3, he was diagnosed with autism. His remarkable artistic ability emerged at age 10.

Jessica Park …is a mail clerk at Williams College where she has worked for 30 years. Her paints are acrylics. Each color is mixed to a particular shade, resulting in seven or eight shades of the same color applied one by one, according to a diagram that she holds in her mind.                                                                                                                                                                           

Christophe Pillault… he is unable to talk, walk or feed himself. He discovered painting, using his hands though unable to use his fingers functionally. He began painting in 1993.

Richard Wawro…was legally blind. He drew with his face only inches from the canvas, yet his perspective was always maintained. Richard possessed a massive, literal memory.    

George Widener…can calculate dates spanning thousands of years in lightning speed. He is faster than a calculator and combines his fascination of calendar dates into his amazing art.

Donna Williams....was tested for deafness, assessed as disturbed and finally diagnosed in her twenties as autistic. She wrote her international bestseller, Nobody Nowhere, following it with two sequels. Donna is an accomplished sculptor, painter and composer.

Stephen Wiltshire...was born with severe speech difficulties, almost mute, in his own world and with no eye contact. After a 45-minute helicopter ride over Rome, he produced an astonishingly accurate aerial view of Rome on a 5 ½  yard canvas in 3 days.

Ping Lian Yeak (14 years old)...as a young child had very poor fine motor skills. Following the "train the talent" mentality, his motor skills were strengthened through tracing drills. Ping Lian creates exquisite watercolor, charcoal, acrylic and oil paintings.       

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