Exhibition Display: A Technological Perspective

In response to our loyal blog reader S.'s request, I have researched on display technology in museums and am here to offer my two cents.

Display is one of the most vital aspects in the existence of an exhibition, as "show-and-tell" is the core idea of how museum learning occurs in the most traditional sense. With objects, interpretive schemes and curatorial knowledge, an exhibition display combines and compacts a multitude of knowledge into one concentrated dose of information that visitors can see, touch, hear, smell and/or even taste, and bring home the memories of "a museum visit" and hopefully new things that they do not already know. With the invention of various display technologies, it enhances the amount of information that can be packed into a museum exhibition and presents them in manner that is wondrous and resonates with the technology-enhanced lives of modern day. Considering that the topic is extremely broad and has many implications, this post will focus on the most interesting (yes it is as subjective as it sounds) uses of technology in recent exhibitions, in an attempt to shed some light on the potential uses of such medium.


The above video is demonstration of a project at the Vienna University of Technology called The Virtual Showcase. Quote from project website: "The Virtual Showcase allows for three-dimensional graphical augmentation of real objects placed inside a glass housing similar to a traditional showcase. The Virtual Showcase has the same form factor as a real showcase, making it compatible with traditional museum displays. Scientific or cultural artefacts are placed inside the Virtual Showcase, allowing to add additional virtual objects, explanations, reconstructions or virtual characters used for storytelling. The virtual (and the real) part of the showcase can react in various ways to a visitor, enabling intuitive interaction with the content displayed."

By allowing interactions with a virtual object, the showcase offers an augmented experience for visitors without risking damage for the original artifact. In addition, visitors can also access interpretive information and interact with an object that is usually off limits in a tactile sense. However, I wonder, does the interaction that visitors gain with an object's 3D rendering compensate for the loss of experience with the original artifact?

On this note, it is interesting to think about what happens if a museum completely relies on digital and virtual displays, without owning any permanent collections. This was the initial idea of architect Kisho Kurokawa when the National Art Center, Tokyo was built.

Besides the obvious fact of huge money savings, the lack of a permanent collection also allows a constant change of temporary exhibitions, including blockbusters that tend to attract visitors as well as more experimental work that pushes the boundaries of the art world. Kurokawa intended the museum to use cutting-edge technology in displaying images of artwork of flat-screen panels, instead of showing original artworks that are fragile and unclear. However, due to copyright issues, the plan was shelved indefinitely.

This also begs another question, should cultural institutions be exempted from certain copyright restrictions for the sake of public good? And should digital displays replace the exhibition of original art/artifacts?