Speaking of Seeing: Haptikos

What are we touching? Is touch a sensation or a feeling beyond the physical?Are we aware of touch only as memory, or are we living the touch we feel now?
Photographer Bill Wadman and I wonder about the relationship between touch and memory, considering the desire to touch that which is forbidden (in my case, a Barnett Newman painting), and questioning our motivation to touch others.
We are reminded of the artisan who once touched the coffin of an Ancient Egyptian, Wepwawatemhat, his fingerprint impressed upon the painted animal of the coffin decoration. We consider the role of touch in galleries, especially for those of us who are visually impaired. We feel humbled in the presence of Henry Moore's bronze sculptures, invitingly smooth, and beneath the outstretching hands of God and Adam, reaching to touch in The Creation. We wonder, what is touch to us?
With thanks to Bill for his ongoing support for the Speaking of Seeing project.