The first thing that came to mind when I heard the sentence "There is nothing to see so we look," was an installation piece I saw at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh several years ago. The piece by James Turrell is called Pleiades.
Before entering the piece, the viewer is instructed to walk up the ramp, take a seat, and remain until their eyes adjust to the room. Once inside, the viewer finds that the gallery is completely dark. A clumsy journey is made through the corridor, up the ramp, and to the seats. Once seated, the viewer waits for their eyes to adjust to the pitch black room, which they have been instructed could take up to 15 minutes. 15 minutes is a long time to sit in a completely dark room. There is time for lots of thoughts to race through ones head, most importantly at that moment being what is in that room. Inevitabley, some asshole will open their cell phone creating just enough light to prevent the viewer's eyes from adjusting on their first or second attempt. This is a problem Turrell never accounted for when he created the piece in 1983.
Eventually, the viewers' eyes do adjust and they see that they are sitting alone in a completely black room. There is a faint white light that seems to grow and shrink, glimmering like one of the stars the piece is named after. The viewer wonders if the light they are seeing actually exists, (How could it? The room was dark for the past 15 minutes.) or if it was something they are seeing through their mind's eye.
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