Charles Baird Biography

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Charles Baird: Biography Chuck Baird was a deaf American artist, credited with being a founder of the De’VIA art movement, which is aesthetic of the culture of deaf people, where the worldview of the deaf is conveyed through visual art. He was born on February 22, 1947 in Kansas City, Missouri to a family of five, in which he was the last born. In his family, only both his parents and one brother had the ability to hear. Baird and three of his sisters did not have the ability to hear. This situation was particularly difficult for the family since none of the relatives were deaf. This meant that his parents were totally unprepared to raise four deaf children (Horovitz 85). The fact that Baird’s parents did not have deaf relatives also meant that they were unfamiliar with American Sign Language. To try to cope, they made use of ‘home signs’ as well as finger spelling in order to communicate with Baird and his other deaf siblings. As soon as they were of age, Baird and his deaf siblings were enrolled in the Kansas School of the Deaf in Olathe, Kansas. It was actually the older sister that taught Baird sign language. Baird turned out to be the slowest of his peers in terms of athleticism albeit on an elementary level. For instance, during games, when team members were chosen, Baird was never chosen and if he were chosen, he would always be the last. What Baird could not accomplish athletically, he made up for in art. According to Baird, the first time that he felt a sense of self- esteem was when he first entered the art room. Baird was about eight years when he discovered that he had a lot of talent in art. His classmates acknowledged this in the art room, where Baird even recalls his teacher giving him a big hug and a pat on the back. At the age of twelve, Baird won the Kansas City Regional Scholastic Art Award. Additionally, his painting also

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