Why do people go to exhibitions, and what do they hope to gain from the
experience? What would happen if people were encouraged to move freely
through exhibition spaces, take photographs and be playful?
In this book, Inge Daniels explores what might happen if people and
objects were freed from the regulations currently associated with going
to an exhibition. Traditional understandings of exhibitions place the
viewers in a one-way communication form, where the exhibition and those
behind its creation inform their audiences. However, motivations behind
exhibition-going are multiple and complex and frequently the intentions
of
curators do not match the expectations of their visitors.
Based on an in-depth ethnographic examination of the processes involved
in the making and reception of one particular exhibition-experiment as
well as a study that follows 'freed' objects into their new homes, this
publication will not only shed light on what exhibitions are, but also
what they could become in the future.
Featuring over 175 colour illustrations and using practical examples,
this is an important contribution for students and scholars of
anthropology, museum studies, photography, design and architecture.