Ways of Seeing

‘The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled’
John Berger, Ways of Seeing (1972)

Greenwich has long been a site intimately connected with processes of looking. From court pageantry to astronomical observation, perfection of a maritime art genre to the training of boys for naval duties, its buildings have developed around concerns for presentation and representation, seeing and being seen.

For the 2015 Queen’s House conference, we take our current contemporary art exhibition as inspiration to think about processes of looking and recording. Unseen: The Lives of Looking by Dryden Goodwin considers seven modern and historic lives that have had a particular relationship with looking: an eye surgeon, planetary explorer, human rights lawyer, contemporary artist, astronomer royal, marine draughtsman, and astronomy assistant. Their lives emerge through Dryden Goodwin’s intense drawn and filmed portraits, the tools and papers of their trades, and objects from the museum’s collection.

Together these lives make us think about how we look in the modern world, what we do and do not choose to see, and what the histories and legacies of these processes might be. The different uses of eye and hand to observe and record, combined with increasingly complex technologies, highlight the ever-changing relationships between what we see and what we know, and the centrality of representation to that relationship.

Building on the themes and characters of the exhibition, proposals are invited for a one-day conference to bring an interdisciplinary perspective to bear on ways of seeing. All proposals are welcome, but those which take an innovative and interdisciplinary approach are particularly encouraged.

Topics might include:
- Process of drawing and illustration within the study of astronomy, medicine and law.
- Technologies of drawing, printing and film-making
- Ideas of eye-witnessing, close looking and surveillance
- Metaphors of looking and seeing
- The historiography of these ideas in different historical fields.

An abstract of 250 words and a short biography should be sent to researchrmg.co.uk by 15 May. Enquiries can be sent to Dr Katy Barrett kbarrettrmg.co.uk.