Deaf Resistance and Affirmation Art: Linocut Prints by David Call

David Call was born Deaf in Los Angeles, California. He attended the California School for the Deaf at Riverside (CSDR) and graduated from Gallaudet University.  His artistic talents were recognized, and he was encouraged to explore and experiment with several artistic mediums, including linocut.  After teaching social studies for 18 years at the California School for the Deaf at Fremont (CSDF), David began teaching art classes. He saw that Deaf students could benefit from art education, and they were truly motivated to make art. To help create lessons for his students, David added hands-on experience in the process of linocut art.

He soon learned about Deaf View Image Art (De’VIA); an art form created to show Deaf people’s experiences created by Deaf people. David began introducing De’VIA philosophy and De’VIA artworks to his students. In addition to promoting creative self-expression, De’VIA “helped my students analyze and explore their Deafhood experience.” This further inspired David to begin creating De’VIA linocuts and the popularity of his works further pushed him to establish his own small business, the David Call Eye Hand Studio.

De’VIA underlies a desire to reveal the truth about the oppressive experiences in his own life and the truth about how Deaf people experience the world. His art promotes a reframing of how Deaf people are viewed by the dominant culture. His feelings of responsibility to future generations of Deaf people which have been magnified by his years of teaching have led him to taking on the role of an “artivist” whose art serves to challenge educational and social inequalities.