Nancy Rourke

Nancy Rourke is the first book ever written about Nancy Rourke, a Deaf oil painter who works in the De'VIA (Deaf View/Image Art) style. Its pages are full of bright reproductions of her paintings, made in her signature primary colors, alongside writing about individual works and about her life. Her interest in art goes back to childhood, when she began drawing as a way to communicate with her parents.

Rourke has been making art for more than forty years, but her current approach took shape in 2010, when her paintings started to reflect the themes of affirmation, resistance and liberation that define De'VIA. Van Manen traces where her paintings come from and examines the career she has built since taking up those themes.

Written for art enthusiasts, aspiring artists, and anyone curious about Deaf culture or De'VIA, the book works as an educational resource. It is one volume in a series that spotlights contemporary Deaf visual artists who contribute to the Deaf Art Movement and De'VIA. These artists bring perspectives to their work that connect to American Sign Language, Deaf heritage and Deaf culture. Each volume combines biography, interpretation of the artwork, and some description of individual pieces.

The series offers readers a window into the lives of Deaf people through their artists. It is also a practical guide for art historians, curators and docents who want to understand the place of Deaf Art and De'VIA in American art.