Call for Papers for a Special Issue of Perception "Perception of Shadows
and Illumination"

Guest Editors
Umberto Castiello, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway – University of
London.
Daniel Kersten, Computational Vision Laboratory, University of Minnesota.

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the investigation of
the role of shadows and illumination in object perception. Papers published
in highly regarded journals such as Cerebral Cortex, Nature, Neuron,
Perception, Trends in Cognitive Science and Vision Research have
contributed to make this a topic of growing impact within the scientific
community (e.g. neuroscience, experimental psychology, vision). In parallel
with developments in vision science, prominent figures within the
philosophical and history of art domains have published interesting essays
and books on shadows and illumination (e.g. Shadows and enlightenment by
Michael Baxandall; A short history of shadows by Victor I. Stoichita; The
discovery of shadows by Roberto Casati). Of relevance is that most of these
essays and books explicitly refer to the link between the artistic and the
scientific investigation on the nature of shadows. Interestingly they all
refer to research in the fields of neuropsychology, psychology and visual
perception, making a plea for more interactions between artists and
scientists to discuss such an important aspect of our visual experience.
This special issue will provide the opportunity for a forum where
scientific results, ideas and experiences from different academic domains
will be shared. For these reasons, and thanks to the recent methodological
and theoretical developments, we believe this special issue to be
particularly timely.

Possible topics on shadows and illumination include:

- Shadows in painting
- Shadows and motor control
- Shadows in photography and cinematography
- Shadows in the history of art
- Impossible shadows
- Methodological issues in the study of the depiction of cast shadows
- Neuroimaging and illumination
- Neurophysiology and single-unit recording and the effects of
illumination
- Computer rendering and the perception of shadows
- Complex illumination and material perception
- Complex scenes (illumination, lightness and recognition)
- Computer vision solutions to object recognition given illumination
variation.


This special issue seeks to bring together recent studies of these and
related topics in order to increase our understanding of the nature of
shadows and illumination. Because the study of shadows and illumination
benefits from an interdisciplinary approach, contributions are encouraged
from investigators using a variety of research methods (behavioral
techniques, eyetracking, functional neuroimaging, kinematics and
computational modeling) and theoretical background (history of art,
neuroscience, philosophy, psychology and visual arts). Contributions that
integrate theory with empirical work are especially encouraged, as are
brief empirical papers.

The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2003, for publication by the
end of 2004.

Electronic submissions in pdf format are preferred, and should be sent to:

[log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]

All papers should be formatted according to APA style.

Inquiries can be made via email to [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]


The Laboratorio di Scienze Cognitive and the Dipartimento di Scienze della
Cognizione e della Formazione - University of Trento announce the
symposium:

“SHADOWS: FROM ART TO NEUROSCIENCES”

Organised by

Umberto Castiello and Daniel Kersten

A Symposium held at the MART (Modern Art Museum of Rovereto and Trento) in
Rovereto, Trento, Italy.


Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to attend the symposium “Shadows: from art to neurosciences”
which will take place on the 8th of November 2003 in Rovereto (Trento,
Italy). This symposium aims to bring together art historians, experimental
psychologists and neuroscientists to discuss issues concerned with the use
and investigation of shadows in a diversity of fields such as visual
perception, history of art, cinema, photography and neurosciences.

The Symposium will be held at the new Museum of Modern Art in Rovereto
(Trento), Italy (http://www.mart.tn.it).

Four keynote speakers from multidisciplinary backgrounds will present
issues of mutual interest related to the theoretical theme of shadow
perception:

Daniel Kersten, Professor of Psychology, University of Minnesota, USA.

David Perrett, Professor of Psychology, University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

Victor Stoichita, Professor of History of Modern and Contemporary Art,
University of Freibourg, Switzerland.

Carlo Alberto Zotti Minici, Professor of Media Arts, University of Padua,
Italy.

Participants are encouraged to submit proposals for the Poster presentation
session, which we believe will be a central and exciting feature of the
symposium. Please note that poster topics must be focused on the main theme
of the meeting and targeted to a wider audience. Submitted proposals will
be reviewed.

Posters will be available for viewing throughout the day and especially
during the refreshment and lunch breaks. Formal Poster Sessions will take
place between 13.00-14.30 and between 17.30-18.30.

Poster proposal submission should be sent to Umberto Castiello
([log in to unmask]) and Daniel Kersten ([log in to unmask]).

No participation fee is required.

DEADLINE FOR POSTER SUBMISSION

August 30th, 2003

We look forward to meeting you at the symposium and to receiving your
poster submission.

Information concerned with programme, registration, guidelines for poster
submission, accommodation, travel and a flyer describing the symposium, can
be found from the symposium website:
www.unitn.it/convegni/neuroscienze.htm . Access to the site will be
available from June.

Simultaneous translation will also be provided (two lectures will be in
Italian and two lectures will be in English).

If you have any further queries regarding registration, poster
presentation, accommodation and travel arrangements please do not hesitate
to contact Mrs. Daniela Selvatico ([log in to unmask]).

Best wishes,

Umberto Castiello & Daniel Kersten