Displaying Spaces Spatial Design, Experience, and Authenticity in Museums Märit Simonsson Department of Culture and Media Studies Umeå 2014 PAPERS IN MUSEOLOGY 10 Responsible publisher under Swedish law: the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities This work is protected by the Swedish Copyright Legislation (Act 1960:729) ISBN: 978-91-7601-141-6 ISSN: 1103-0100 Cover by: Märit Simonsson and Print & Media Electronic version available on http://umu.diva-portal.org/ Printed by: Print & Media, Umeå University 2014 ABSTRACT My dissertation aims to analyse how spatial design affects experiences and meaning making in museums. The overarching question is what the spatial elements and forms within museums communicate to those who visit them. This issue is specifi- cally explored here in five museums in Rome, Italy. Museo dell’Ara Pacis is a mod- ern white building housing the Augustan altar Ara Pacis. Palazzo Doria Pamphilj is a 17th century palace containing a large private collection of contemporaneous art. Next is Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, which is a part of the National Roman Muse- um and contains antique artefacts, such as mosaics and frescoes. The former power plant Centrale Montemartini is now an exhibition space displaying antique sculp- tures. Finally, MAXXI, which was inaugurated in 2010, displays contemporary Italian art and architecture. The method used for analysing these museums was based on observations of the museum spaces. The observations followed a method plan that consisted of visiting the museum spaces on several occasions and describ- ing the spaces and my own experiences of them with a focus on spatial aspects, such as layout and the disposition of exhibitions in terms of material and volume, as well as light and colours. Also, included in the observations were conversations with first-time visitors, one in each of the five museums, about their experiences of the visit. Their observations are discussed in relation to my own descriptions and expe- riences that, in turn, are analysed in dialogue with theoretical perspectives. The theoretical framework consists of an assembly of approaches from diverse academic disciplines. The most essential of these are museological aspects on museum experi- ences, authenticity and spatial matters and theories within architecture and art that can be applied to the analysis of spatial experiences and to discussions on art history and art spaces. Multimodality, semiotics and hermeneutics are applied in relation to the analysis of spatial elements and symbolic meanings as well as to authentic expe- riences and understanding of history. Furthermore, phenomenological approaches to the body as the medium through which we perceive the world is central in this study and is assumed to be a fundamental precondition for spatial experiences in muse- ums. The selected museums are treated and analysed individually in each of their chapters, and the results reveal that although they are radically different from each other in terms of their contents and display concepts, they have corresponding fac- tors in common. In the final chapter, the five museums are further discussed in rela- tion to perspectives and theories on spatial design in museums in a broader sense and the conclusions, therefore, are drawn on a more general level. The discussions include aspects on authentic experiences of both historical and contemporary muse- um elements as well as on the issue of balance and imbalance in relation to museum spaces. The conclusion of the analysis is that museum spaces are inseparable from their contents. Space and exhibition elements influence each other and meaning is formed in their relationship. When imbalanced, museum spaces might evoke sensa- i tions of confusion and frustration. When balanced, on the other hand, they can create an atmosphere that evokes sensations of excitement, comfort, and curiosity and their settings can stimulate the motivation to understand the exhibition context or encour- age visitors to imagine themselves situated in another time and place. Different kinds of sensations are evoked within us when we are present in a museum, but it is not always obvious to us that spatial design is what causes them. The impact that museum space has on our experiences and meaning making is thus more considera- ble than we might acknowledge. ii ACKNOWLEDMENTS Although writing a dissertation is solitary work in many respects, it is also work that demands a solid social support system, both professionally and privately, in order to be accomplished. Practical aid and advice from more experienced colleagues gets one far but I have found that it is equally important to be surrounded by people who encourage one to work as by people who encourage one to rest. The following acknowledgements are dedicated to those who have inspired me to do both. To my supervisors Richard Pettersson and Kerstin Smeds, I am very grateful to you for believing in my research project and for supporting me throughout this process. Thank you to the Department of Culture and Media Studies at Umeå Uni- versity and the Swedish Institute in Rome for providing me with space and time to explore, reflect, and produce. Thank you to my fellow museologists and doctoral students in Umeå and to Robert Bhatt and Ann-Catrine Eriksson for moral support. Many thanks to Kristi Burman, who encouraged me to follow my instincts and engage in studies of spatial meaning in the first place. Thank you to Sofia, Anna, Elin, Karin H. and Karin A. for ten years of devoted friendship. My warmest thank you to my parents Annakarin and Olle for all the love and support. Many thanks and big hugs to my brothers Per and Olov and their families. Patrik, thank you for being my rock. Umeå, November 2014 Märit Simonsson iii iv CONTENTS ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDMENTS iii CONTENTS v I: INTRODUCTION 1 Aim and research questions 8 The Roman context 8 Method 10 Observation method 11 Theory 18 Phenomenological approaches to space 18 (Inter)subjectivity, meaning making, and authenticity 23 To experience space 27 Communication in museums 29 Atmospheric elements in space 33 Approaches to museum space 35 Disposition 40 II: MUSEO DELL’ARA PACIS 41 Background 41 Museum context 43 The main hall 43 The altar 47 The meaning of light 51 A whiter shade of pale 54 The classical legacy 59 Unspoken importance 60 Conclusion 63 III: PALAZZO DORIA PAMPHILJ 65 Background 65 Museum context 67 Layout of the palace spaces 67 The apartments 69 The galleries 73 A room for a pope 76 The Aldobrandini room 79 “Being there” 82 Conclusion 83 v IV: PALAZZO MASSIMO ALLE TERME 85 Background 85 Museum context 87 Finding the way 87 Spatial disposition 91 Spaces on display 96 Of shadows and light 99 A labyrinth 101 Experiences of authenticity 105 Conclusion 108 V: CENTRALE MONTEMARTINI 111 Background 111 Museum context 113 Sala Macchine 113 Sala Caldaie 122 Hybrid spaces 127 Power and glory 129 Conclusion 132 VI: MAXXI 135 Background 135 Museum context 137 The foyer 138 Exhibition rooms and galleries 142 Spatial effects 146 To be or not to be a white cube 150 Time and the contemporary artwork 153 Conclusion 156 VII: DISPLAYING SPACES 159 The function and meaning of spatial design 159 A matter of authenticity 165 Experiencing and understanding history 170 Authenticity in spatial settings 172 Contemporary authenticity 176 Different room, different meaning 179 Conclusion 182 SUMMARY 189 REFERENCES 199 Observations 199 Image credits 199 Literature 200 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Throughout our lives we enter a large number of different spaces. Some of them are merely functional and are used in our everyday routines and are not designed to require our attention to any significant degree. Some are parts of our homes and are furnished according to our own liking, making them comfortable and familiar. Moreover, there are spaces that are created not so much for daily functions as to move us away from our habituated spheres and give us an experience beyond the ordinary. Museums are such spaces. Museum spaces are more than just containers for exhibition settings and ob- jects on display. Layout, design and atmosphere are some of the most significant factors in the overall experience of a museum visit. Spatial design, in museums and elsewhere, is a communicative element that gives a space’s contents additional meaning. The composition of spatial components creates an atmospheric environ- ment in relation to the individual who visits a space. Furthermore, in the case of museums, where exhibition practice is central, the meaning of the spatial relations are complemented by further elements to create the exhibition setting, which adds other modes and thereby create new meanings. All of the elements of an exhibition, including the exhibition space, are interdependent and the relationships between them are what generate the concept of museum displays with their characteristic multimodality and three-dimensionality. In museums, spatial design is interesting because of the extra dimension it brings to the exhibition as a three-dimensional medium and the meaning it conveys in combination with the exhibition modes. However, it is an issue that is easily over- looked because museum spaces are often assessed based on their contents rather than the effect their designs have on visitors. This study attempts to address the issue of how spatial design functions as an exhibition element and how it represents a significant part of the experience and meaning making. Unless a space reminds us of its existence through, for example, inadequacy, it does not particularly evoke any curiosity or concern. If reshaped, redecorated and refurnished, on the other hand, the space’s atmosphere and character changes, and this naturally causes a reaction from its inhabitants. The spaces of our everyday routines do not seem to be extensively considered as environments for communi- cating meaning; they are there for us to use.