Seeing without a Seer - symposium & Workshop

21-9-2018
Looiersgracht 60, Amsterdam, NL

Henk Oosterling - Are you refl(a)ctively interested?

In exploring ideas about a “self-seeing world” we cover a vast landscape of ‘options’, from the religious via the mathematical to the digital by diffusing our gaze on different scales: global/local and mind/body. After presenting very briefly this historical overview Oosterling aims at an intercultural comparison of Eastern and Western options. He relates the core concepts of the ‘in between’ or ‘inter’ of French thinkers of difference like Foucault, Derrida, and Deleuze/Guattari to basic Japanese notion of ‘basho’ and ‘ma’ as a time/space interval in which agency is defined completely different. Referring to the work of Nishida, who develops a variation of hegelian zennism, and combining this with architectural options of Isozaki and digital options of Derrick De Kerckhoven, the present director of the McLuhan Institute, he will broaden our definition of thinking and seeing as a strictly mental activity by situating this discussion in the paradigmatic shift our culture is entangled in: from a pyramidical, hierarchical focus (topdown/bottomup) to a transversal network orientation (transversal/circular). In arguing that technology has torn apart our perception, he will plea for a medial enlightenment in which seeing is revalued.
Adam Loughnane "Seeing Without a Seer" and the Obstructions of Artistic Motion and Perception In this presentation, Loughnane explores the concept "seeing without a seer" by placing it in the broader framework of Nishida’s attempt to develop his ontology of “Basho”. Doing so affords an expansion of the concept beyond the visual to encompass not just the perceiving body, but also the moving expressive body. Construed as such according to its “motor-perceptual” implications, the concept can be critically evaluated vis-a-vis other philosophical systems influencing Nishida, including the Buddhist and European “Continental” traditions. This encounter discloses limitations of the concept specifically regarding the “obstructions,” which impede full realization of seeing without a seer. These obstructions are discussed regarding their potential for informing and expanding the motor-perceptual dynamics of artistic expression. 

Toril Jahannessen interviewed by Frank van der Stok

Adam Loughnane - "Seeing Without a Seer" and the Obstructions of Artistic Motion and Perception

Conversation Basje Boer & Martine Stig

Hiryczuk/ Van Oevelen - Looking with a detached gaze

Alena Alexandrova - Portraits in Reverse: Few Notes on Empathy and Entropy 

Tuula Närhinen - Phenomenotechnique in Visual Art Practice – a hands-on approach

Lecture on Ocularcentrism by Agnieszka Wolodko for students of the Master Institute Den Bosch & Honours programme Artez

Guided tour for students of the Master Institute Den Bosch & Honours programme Artez