Visual Perception and Aboriginal Art

Bookings essential. 6:00pm Drinks, 6:30–7:30pm Lecture.

Aboriginal painting now has a world-wide reputation. However it has largely been regarded as conceptual rather than perceptual with a very strong emphasis on the stories depicted.

In the fourth Women and Science lecture, Barbara Gillam will examine the innovative perceptual skills of Aboriginal bark painters, especially in depicting figure-ground and occlusion. She will also discuss the visual meaning of this art and its interaction with conceptual meanings.

Out of respect for cultural practices, we will not be featuring the bark paintings referenced in Barbara’s presentation in any of our promotional materials.

Emeritus Professor Barbara Gillam FRSN
Barbara Gillam was educated at the University of Sydney and ANU. After two years as a Lecturer in the UK, she moved to New York with academic positions at Columbia and SUNY. She returned to Australia in 1987 to take up the Chair of Psychology at the University of New South Wales, where she is still a professor.

Presented by the Royal Society of NSW and the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, the Women and Science lecture series will examine the huge changes we have seen in the roles women have played in science, and the view science has held of women.

The event will be at the Tom Keneally Centre.