Kim H. Veltman
Director, Perspective Unit
McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology
University of Toronto
100 Lombard Street, Suite 303
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5C 1M3
Tel. (416) 363-4033
Fax (416) 941-9581
E-Mail kim_veltman@hotmail.com
The Perspective Unit collects materials on the history, theory and applications of perspective, projection methods and spatial concepts. It uses electronic media to explore new approaches to knowledge and education. It houses a standard database with definitions, bibliography (15,000 titles), slide collection (c.12,000 images), microfilms (150), videos and books. The unit offers two graduate courses and is open to educators, scholars and students at all levels.
Perspective involves time as well as space. Because it is integrally connected with both the rise of narrative and literacy, perspective offers important insights into the interdependence of western literature and art. Alternative methods in non-Western cultures (aspective, inverted perspective, axial perspective, parallel perspective) are also studied. Because it transforms depicted and real spaces, perspective demonstrates how construction and representation of the man-made world change the world of nature; how mastery of key spatial elements transforms the very concept of environment. Technical applications range from art, mathematics, cartography and astronomy to recent developments in holography, stereoscopy and virtual reality. Metaphorical applications include literature, philosophy, psychology, psychiatry, sociology and anthropology.
A basic goal is to use electronic media to gather what is known on perspective in the form of a knowledge package which can serve as a prototype for new approaches to knowledge in other fields. To this end a System for Universal Media Searching (SUMS © 1992-1997) is being developed. SUMS is being linked to the Internet. The Perspective unit is a test site for a number of companies including Autodesk, and Vectar. The unit serves as a clearing house for new techniques and methods integrating information in museums, galleries and libraries.
Articles and Reviews
Bibliography
Books