The most important insight from my research, summed up in a single sentence? Exhibitions are radically fragmented. Think Swiss cheese\u2014but reversed: more holes than cheese. Between showcase and showcase, object and object, object and text, room and room\u2014gaps. Between reading, listening, reflecting, chatting, observing\u2014breaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we understand stories as \u201cstructures of meaning\u201d (a brilliant definition!), then exhibitions are loosely woven tapestries of significance. Always.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Film, as a medium, can do both: flowing sequences and abrupt cuts. Exhibitions are more stubborn. By nature. Things (!) tend to stand next to<\/em> rather than with<\/em> one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This isn\u2019t exactly a new insight. But in my observation, it\u2019s still not taken seriously enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One reason: as curators, we\u2019re deeply immersed in our topics. We know our exhibitions inside and out. So we make connections effortlessly. We know<\/em> that a particular object in Room 1 is meant to relate to certain information later on. We unconsciously fill in any missing links. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This makes it difficult for us to truly see how massive the challenge is for visitors: to make those connections themselves. Not only because the content is often unfamiliar\u2014but because they can\u2019t know<\/em> what\u2019s coming in the next rooms. And once they get there, they\u2019ve often forgotten what they saw, read, or heard before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We see the cheese. The audience sees the holes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The most important insight from my research, summed up in a single sentence? Exhibitions are radically fragmented. Think Swiss cheese\u2014but reversed: more holes than cheese. Between showcase and showcase, object and object, object and text, room and room\u2014gaps. Between reading, listening, reflecting, chatting, observing\u2014breaks. If we understand stories as \u201cstructures of meaning\u201d (a brilliant definition!),… Weiterlesen Swiss Cheese\u2014but Reversed<\/span>