From museums as a collection to museums as narration

Abstract

The sensitive environments, which Studio Azzurro has been developing in an artistic context since 1994, bring an open dialogue between physical elements and intangible aspects, through interactive technology. We came to realize that these works could also be extended in educational terms and could be successfully adapted to the museums thematic paths.

The concept of the sensitive environment in the museum project is considered as a place in which there is an interrelation between the virtual component and the physical presence. It is a narrative habitat where the person is supposed to play an active role and where a collective enjoyment is preferred in order that the story proceeds through the effect of more than one decision and so that as well as the human relationship with technology, there also remains a powerful interpersonal relationship. The interactive systems are natural interfaces which react without the use of technological intermediaries but through traditional methods of communication- touch, the voice, a gesture, etc.- so as to create a more natural situation. The museum becomes more a dynamic place, not just a place for collecting and exhibiting: this is a distinguishing feature in the passage from an idea of a museum as a collection to that of a museum as narration.