Angela Geis

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Have you ever taken a good look at your blurry reflection in the mirror after you get out of the shower? That鈥檚 how Angela Geis sees鈥攐n a good day.

This is not one of them.

鈥淚鈥檓 having a really bad eye day,鈥 the 天天吃瓜 graduate confided during a recent interview. 鈥淚鈥檓 really fogged over.鈥

Not that those bad days have prevented Geis (B.A. 鈥02 Psychology), who was born legally blind in both eyes, from becoming a successful Paralympic judo fighter and . Her is scheduled for Oct. 11 at Celebrity Salon in Evanston.

Geis, who picked up judo only a year ago, won the silver medal at nationals in May. She missed the world championships in August with an injury, but Geis hasn鈥檛 ruled out the 2016 Paralympics in Brazil.

鈥淏eing a visually impaired person, I took up judo to learn how to protect myself,鈥 said Geis, 48, who lives in Chicago鈥檚 North Rodgers Park neighborhood. 鈥淭hey teach you how to fall correctly because that happens, but they saw potential in me. I think I could have won the gold-medal match at nationals鈥擨鈥檓 just inexperienced.鈥

As much immediate success as she鈥檚 had in judo, Geis does not mince words when it comes to which calling she prefers.

鈥淚 would rather spend money on my business of photography than travel around the world beating people up,鈥 she said.

Geis credits Northeastern psychology department chair Saba Ayman-Nolley for launching her photography career.

During her senior year, Geis took Ayman-Nolley鈥檚 Art of Psychology class. In order to better understand how visual artists operate, Geis worked closely with a photographer to learn the details of the medium. From there, a fascination was born.

She has since been featured twice by ABC7 (in and ) and sells her prints for $400 apiece.

鈥淎ngela was an open and curious student, very willing to learn the course material for the sake of learning and improving her knowledge and not so much for the grade,鈥 Ayman-Nolley said. 鈥淚t was a pleasure to teach her as a student, and it has been a pleasure to be her fan as an artist and friend as an alum.鈥

Geis鈥 upcoming show comes at a good time鈥攕he describes her black-and-white art as 鈥淗alloweenish.鈥

鈥淥ctober is always a good month for me to have a show with cemetery architecture and bleak landscapes,鈥 she said. 鈥淏eing in black and white, I can express the darker things in life. It gets a reaction because people don鈥檛 deal with dying or death.鈥

Geis takes her photos with a digital camera, then blows the images up on her computer screen to truly see what she captured.

鈥淏ecause my vision is bad, I look at lights and darks from a different perspective,鈥 she said.

What results is Geis鈥 artistic vision.

鈥淚 just want people to look at a picture and feel an emotion鈥攚hether it鈥檚 negative or positive,鈥 she said. 鈥淏eing an artist, that is a fantastic thing.鈥