ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I will examine naturally occurring interaction in optometric consultations and in museums through which two participants produce ‘moments of intersubjectivity.’ These are moments when the participants display they have constituted a visual object that they both orient to in a way appropriate for the situation. I will examine video-recorded fragments of interaction to explore: 1 how visual co-orientation is achieved in the ordinary circumstances of optometric consultations and museum visits; 2 how the observations made in these two settings may inform our understanding of the differences in the interactional production of an intersubjective perceptual experience between two institutional settings; and 3 how these differences may influence our understanding of the relationship between art and science. I first will turn to the practices deployed by the optometrist to assess the ability of individual clients to see clearly in the distance. Subsequently, I will examine interaction at three exhibits: the first exhibit is a ‘funhouse mirror’ that shows an upside-down image of the onlooker in the reflection; the second exhibit is an interactive arts-and-craft work; and the third exhibit is a painting by Rembrandt. With regard to all three exhibits I will explore how participants establish moments in which their perspectives to the exhibit are in alignment. In so doing, I will spell out what can be learned from the experimental achievement of shared perception in situ.
