Anyone who has visited an exhibition, possibly one with a legendary reputation, may remember this or that. But they will hardly have remembered everything. Those who missed the show can only get an impression, however limited, from photographs, catalogues or reviews. As far as research is concerned, it would also be desirable to be able to get closer to the form, atmosphere and sequence of a historical exhibition. In the EU research project “Beyond Matter. Cultural Heritage on the Verge of Virtual Reality”, the aim is to work out ways in which past exhibitions can be experienced again through methods of digital and spatial modelling. Under the title “Matter. Non-Matter. Anti-Matter.” the Centre for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe, in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou Paris, will present the current status of the research project from 3 December 2022 to 23 April 2023.
Two past exhibitions will take centre stage as case studies: “Les Immatériaux”, shown at the Centre Pompidou in 1985, and the show “Iconoclash. Beyond the wars of images in science, religion and art”, which the ZKM presented in 2002. Central to the modelling of the past is the question of the special materiality of the digital. “Les Immatériaux” wanted to explore, through the exploration of the intersections of art, science and technologies, what changes are taking place in postmodernity due to the growing presence of new technologies in all areas of life. “Iconoclash” then focused on the theme of representation and its multiple forms of expression, as well as the social turbulence it generates. “Matter. Non-Matter. Anti-Matter.” now presents the digital models of the two projects on the “Immaterial Display”, a hardware specially developed for exploring virtual exhibitions. In addition, newly created artistic works tie in with the 3D models of the two past exhibitions. The case studies and examples of the application of digital curatorial construction and reconstruction techniques created as part of the “Beyond Matter” project complement the presentation. After its stop at the ZKM, a new edition of “Matter. Non-Matter. Anti-Matter.” will be on view at the Centre Pompidou in Paris from May to July 2023.
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