“The Forms of Space” 
November 25th 2009 – Berlin School of Mind and Brain

Abstract

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, colour and 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.

–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.

–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.

Curated by Anton Burdakov