EXTENDING THE MUSEUM: THE EXHIBITION VISITOR AS A CULTURAL PRODUCERTony Bennett (1988) describes the 19th century world exhibition as “exhibitionary complex”, defined by the organization of space, the exhibited objects and the gaze of the visitors. He also observes the way in which it involved both the lower and middle classes in new relations of power and knowledge, and offered them tools for self-regulation and the possibility of becoming a ‘subject of knowledge’. Drawing on Bennett’s diagnosis, a closer examination of the interactive visitors’ engagement in the exhibition space appears crucial, especially with regards to the recent transformation in the tools of knowledge production provided by digitization. Studies on museum visitor behaviour suggest, that it has rapidly changed over the past three decades. Instead of following the explanations offered by the curator, the narration of the exhibition is negotiated: Emotional and atmospheric components dominate cognitive ones. Taking cultural production as a specific domain of identity construction, it suggests that the traditional linear path through the exhibition has dissolved into a network which allows every visitor to follow his/her own interests. The recipient turned into a producer of meaning.
Extending the Museum → Keep updated on the latest findings of my research
PUBLICATION:NARRATIVE DESIGN. THE DESIGNER AS AN INSTIGATOR OF CHANGES. With an introduction by Formafantasma Peter Lang Publishing / 2016ISBN 978–3–631–66092–8
THINKING (WITH) MUSEUMS.Azón Crítica Nr. 6 / June 2018 (Pp.173–179) ISSN 2500–7807DEAR READER, DON'T READ.Forthcoming / May 2020
TALKS:EXTENDING THE MUSEUMat The Art Museum in the Digital Age Belvedere Research Center / Vienna, 9–10th January 2020
DEAR READER, DON’T READat Péritexte et Transmédialité. Objects culturels en convergence.Université Téluq Québec, 23–24th May 2019