#DownWithOcularcentrism & Other ‘There Plant Eyes’ Book Portraits
I asked friends to take photos with There Plant Eyes and wear sunglasses with hashtag #DownWithOcularcentrism. So many great ones as you’ll see below! Feel free to send over your own portrait with my book and I’ll add it here… Please include an image description—they’re fun!
Abigail
I’m holding Leona’s book in one hand, while taking a selfie with the other. I’m wearing big dark cat eye sunglasses with bright red lipstick and vintage button earrings. I have short straight bangs while the rest of my red hair is tied back. On the wall behind me is an old circus poster featuring a roaring lion.
Alabaster
A black and white photo of Alabaster, who appears to be wearing all black with black sunglasses, standing cross-legged and askew on snow-covered tundra and holding There Plant Eyes.
Alice
On an outdoor patio table Alice’s lovely purple and fuchsia colored phalaenopsis orchid stands next to my book with its misty, speckled spectrum of colors ranging from light grey at the spine to a vibrant violet at center with bright spots towards the outer edge as if a couple spotlights were hitting the deep violet making those places brighter and lighter. The title, There Plant Eyes: A Personal and Cultural History of Blindness, and byline, M. Leona Godin, are large and left justified with only one or two words running across the cover from left to right and doubled in grade two braille..
Andy
ThisIsAndySlater and he stands behind a bar holding Leona’s book. He’s wearing a black turtleneck with a gold lion’s head medallion hanging from his neck. His hair is red and brown and his beard is cayenne grey he is wearing round framed sunglasses that Bob Snyder gave him. Bob got them in Amsterdam in the 70’s and he calls them Dutch Hipster shades. Behind Andy is a dark brown wood panel wall with rows of shelves. These shelves hold wine and liquor bottles cocktail glasses, accoutrement, and other assorted bar tools. The bar itself is white with gold flecks. In his right hand he holds a cocktail glass filled with bourbon. The glass has a gold leaf design. Also, on one of the shelves is an ice bucket that looks like a knight’s helm. The bar itself is on par with most Wisconsin basement bars.
Artemis
I’m sitting on a beach holding Leona’s book in one hand, legs outstretched in the sand. Behind me is the coastline of Marin where the ocean meets the bay, and soft waves skim the shore. I’m wearing bright orange pants, a striped t-shirt, and flashy sunglasses. The blue sky above is windswept with tendrils of cloud.
Benjamin
A Handsome pirate reads the book “There Plant Eyes” upon the bowsprit while at sea. He is clearly intent on reading this important tome!
Caitlin
Caitlin holding up Leona Godin’s new book, There Plant Eyes. She’s wearing her edgy very black sunglasses, a black dress, and her signature Caitlin grin.
Caroline & David
Screenshot of a Zoom meeting between Caroline Kasnakian and David Lowe. Zoom icons occupy black horizontal bands at top and bottom of the image, and Caroline (left) and David (right) occupy two windows spanning the middle of the image. They each are in seemingly identical, but reversed, rooms. The rooms are bathed in a lavender, ultraviolet light; there are instruments, draperies, and a small fireplace in each. The lower half of the faces of each caller is hidden behind a copy of There Plant Eyes (the text on the cover of Caroline’s copy appears in reverse). The upper halves of the faces are each obscured behind three pair of large sunglasses.
Cisco
Cisco is in a bookshop wearing a maroon mask and looking very excited about finding There Plant Eyes! He’s got short black hair and is wearing glasses and a black t-shirt.
Esther
I’m standing in front of a sizable granite bolder striated with grey and black lines and speckled with bird droppings. I’m holding Leona’s book, staring into it intently while wearing my dark sunglasses with clear frames. I’m sporting a light blue turtle neck sweater and a blue and purple knitted shawl; my blonde hair is shaved on the sides and the top is pinned into a bun.
Gregory
Taking a selfie in a mirror with puckered lips black t-shirt and brown-rimmed shades with a solid wall, holding There Plant Eyes in one hand.
Indigo & Julien
My long haired 12 year old boy and I holding up copies of the book. Both of us wearing black sunglasses, me with light blond curly hair, bright red lipstick, a smile from ear to ear with a large gap in the middle of my teeth.
Jenn
Jenn is posing in a black and white striped dress with brown sunglasses holding There Plant Eyes in front of her baby blue Atomic Style Lounge 1960 Cadillac.
Killy
A cropped photo from my shoulders up of me wearing large, tortoise colored, subtly cat eye sunglasses. The sunlight is creating a glow with my unkept blonde hair framing my face and I am proudly holding #TherePlantEyes. Behind me is a bit of my favorite tree, which is a bright spring green, a smidge of the shrubbery that lines my driveway and a hint of my front door. I’m wearing a green striped dress, my fingernails are freshly painted blue and green and you can see a bit of my Grandmother’s incredible, 80’s honeycomb style gold ring #DownWithOcularcentrism
Kira
Standing and holding the book wearing Two Blind Brothers sunglasses, a maroon crochet sweater, and smiling.
Kyle
Kyle is wearing a grey t-shirt and black sweatshirt and black sunglasses. He is holding There Plant Eyes and looking very serious and authoritative. There is a New York postage stamp poster on the wall behind him.
Larry & Michele
Michele Carlo and Last-Up Laurence Desgaines pose in front of a colorful mural with Michele holding her copy of “There Plant Eyes,” which they both are pointing at. Larry, a model middle-aged cool-rock-guy with light brown hair, is wearing black sunglasses, a black T-shirt, and has a green bandana around his neck. Redheaded freckle-faced Nuyorican Michele is wearing a blue bandana around her head, rose-gold rounded cat’s-eye sunglasses, and a gradient blue T-shirt-tank top featuring an orange tabby kitten flying with three brown and black dragons. I call it my “Kitten of Thrones” shirt 😁😻😎💯🔥💖
Laurie
Laurie is standing outside in beautiful Hawaii with a palm tree behind her and wearing a tropical flower dress in blacks and pinks and blues. She’s sporting tortoiseshell sunglasses, holding There Plant Eyes with both hands, and smiling.
Leona
I’m reclining on a black leather chaise lounge, wearing a black blouse with colorful embroidered flowers on the sleeves, flowered sunglasses, and holding a print copy of There Plant Eyes. My lounge is floating on a deep blue sea with bright blue sky and puffy white clouds above. In the foreground between me and the viewer, is a shark fin (Jaws style), and because I’m smiling one may believe that it is my friend or pet or familiar!
Leslie
Wearing a grey hat and dark sunglasses, I hold up Dr. Leona Godin’s new book, There Plant Eyes. I’m standing in my NY apartment in front of a quilted wall hanging that looks like a NY postage stamp.
Liam
A handsome bearded man is wearing a light blue button down and black t-shirt. He’s looking stage right and holding up There Plant Eyes in his left hand with a plain wall behind.
Marc & Sarah
Marc Wagnon and Sarah Pillow with the NYC skyline behind them, toasting M. Leona Godin on Pub Day!!
Markus
Markus is holding There Plant Eyes up to his face covering his mouth and he’s wearing black sunglasses and a white t-shirt.
Michelle
Hair down and straightened, black sunglasses, camouflage overalls, white shirt, red bracelet, white scrunchy, black bracelet.
Revjen
Revjen is wearing heart-shaped sunglasses and reading There Plant Eyes with paintings on the wall behind her.
Sabin
I’m comfortably reclining on a nest of pillows gazing into Leona’s book through sporty blackout glasses. I’m wearing a white-striped, grey T-shirt which complements the stripes and swirls on the pillows behind me. The watch on my wrist reflects a painting of flowers not visible in the picture.
Suzanne
I’m holding Leona’s book in my hands looking down at the cover. In front of me, positioned right on the curb of a busy street, is a small sidewalk library with glass doors. You can see my straw hat and polka dot mask reflected in the glass. The sky above me is blue and laced with feathery cirrus clouds.
Todd
A hand is holding There Plant Eyes and a pair of sunglasses in front of the NYC urban landscape and Manhattan skyline in the distance.
Wendi
I’m leaning against a concrete wall spray painted graffiti-style with a mural of the Golden Gate Bridge. My arms are crossed with Leona’s book in one hand and I’m smiling at the camera in my dark sunglasses. I’m wearing baggy black sweatpants, a wrinkled lavender sweatshirt and brand new bright blue high top sneakers with the laces untied. My hair is dark brown and curly, topped with a trucker hat illustrated with an octopus.
Consider purchasing your very own copy of There Plant Eyes: A Personal and Cultural History of Blindness wherever books are sold! Links to all the online biggies—from Bookshop to Amazon— can be found at Penguin Random House.
