Neuroesthetics Talk Series: Semir Zeki (London)
Space is a loosely defined term and so offers many working definitions to many fields. The dialogue will consider whether neuroscientific insights and definitions relevant to 'space' could find currency in other fields, such as art and architecture. It will touch on perception of form, colourand movement as the basis of establishing the nature of relationships between yourself and other entities in the world. It will also consider more specifically what it means to perceive yourself to be inside a particular space, discussing contributions of memory, non-visual factors in space perception, and the crucial but neglected role of peripheral vision in creating a sense of enveloping spatiality and embedding the subject in space.
Following the talk everybody is invited for drinks and an exhibition at
Anton Burdakov's studio (10-min walk from the talk venue).
Studio address:
Linienstraße 131
10115 Berlin
Ground floor, left entrance
Semir Zeki is Professor of Neuroesthetics at University College London. One of the pioneers in the study of the visual brain, in the last ten years he has been focusing on applying neuroscientific knowledge to the study of art, and on using products of artists to help the neurobiologist to study the brain.
Anton Burdakov is a Berlin-based artist. He worked with Semir Zeki after finishing a neuroscience degree at the University of Cambridge, subsequently moving to to Berlin to concentrate on his artwork.
Neuroesthetics Talk Series
This talk is part of a series of public events organized by the the Association of Neuroesthetics in collaboration with the Berlin School of Mind and Brain and the Institut für Raumexperimente (Studio Olafur Eliasson).The sciences, the humanities and the arts approach the natural world and our experience of it from different perspectives. Although traditionally considered separate disciplines, the desire for more holistic understandings has intensified the exchange between them. “Neuroesthetics” is one such node of interdisciplinary exchange, bridging various approaches to questions of art and human experience. On the one hand, rapid development in the neurosciences have produced an extensive database of insight that can further our understanding of both artistic appreciation and the processes of creativity. On the other, artists and those in the humanities continually engage with questions of experience, value and knowledge and their expertise is becoming increasingly relevant to scientific explorations aiming to understand these vital human characteristics. The European Association of Neuroesthetics, which is based in Berlin, has been founded to promote this exciting dialogue and lasting cooperation between the arts and the sciences. Building on the belief that both the arts and neuroscience have purchase on understandings of the human condition, a public talk series together with the Berlin School of Mind and Brain (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), and the Institut für Raumexperimente (Studio Olafur Eliasson) was launched. At (roughly) monthly talks speakers from various disciplines will be invited to present their work. The events are intended as a platform for dialogue – linking artists, scientists and scholars –as well as a space for interdisciplinary research to be presented and shared publicity.
www.association-of-neuroesthetics.org/
www.mind-and-brain.de
www.raumexperimente.net/
