Project "Living a Living Museum"
That is, to firmly believe in the existence of a historical, and therefore human, continuity that indissolubly links events, things, and people of the past—even the most remote—with current events, things, and people.
This is the "categorical imperative" that motivates our proposal: to change the image of the museum, especially the "collective" and superficial image, the one that makes many say "Ah, wasted money!... What's the point?!... The museum, how boring!", the one that—most of the time—has never encouraged them to go inside.
That idea that the museum is a cold series of rooms with glass cases crammed with catalogued items according to some mysterious logic, with names and definitions even more mysterious; or with walls crowded with paintings of different eras and sizes; or with a simple yet useless display of statues; all in a solemn, silent, and even somewhat embarrassing atmosphere.
And the visitor? The only interested party might be a scholar, a "professional"! The others? Some bored school groups, "because otherwise the teacher: ...", or a few tourists, few truly passionate, many just so they can say they've seen at least one!
But a visit that is limited to a superficial observation of the displayed items, already forgotten by the time one leaves, is absolutely meaningless, nor does the museum have any reason to exist.
The museum should—in fact, must—be a stimulus to know and deepen our understanding of the foundations of our existence, so that things from the past can help us understand our modern way of being.
And if we have lost this curiosity, this desire, and the stimulus comes less and less from within, from ourselves, we must be guided, a path and a method must be shown to us.
This is the purpose of our project to "experience a living museum": the production of worksheets, research proposals, and stimuli to "start from the museum and reach humanity," with a particular and carefully designed graphic layout, with drawings, reproductions, bibliographic suggestions linked to local libraries, and with the contribution of experts in each field; a project aimed mainly at schools, to try to make young people understand how all the historical, scientific, and human heritage that preserves millennia of existence is their—and our—property.
By stimulating the youngest, we hope to involve adults, teachers and parents, also rekindling their interest; and perhaps in a greater and better sensitivity, by genetic inheritance, of future generations.
But how can you bring to life a museum of old and dead things?
First of all, by erasing this type of approach and mentality: nothing that has been made by man, or that can help us understand the evolution of life on earth, can be defined as "dead."
Secondly, through deepening, comparison, identification, and involvement.
It starts from a piece in the museum:
- you observe it, understand its definition, use or purpose, and historical placement (age, period, place);
- you compare it with realities closer to us, both in location and time period;
- you make an effort of imagination to make "visible," at least in the mind, the situation in which the piece in question might have been placed;
- finally, you draw concrete parallels with examples close to us.
An example:
1) A burin and a perforator (prehistoric stone tools), supposedly used respectively for engraving other materials (bone, wood, hides)—and thus a tool for making other tools—and for piercing mainly animal hides.
2) Visualization, with the help of explanatory drawings and research of illustrative material or videos on the subject, of similar tools and instruments still used today by tribes of aborigines living in a natural state in the Amazon forests, for example, or in the interior regions of Africa and Australia.
3) Research with contemporary artisans to verify whether the tools they use are related to the objects under examination: a shoemaker uses a tool to pierce the upper and a cutter for leather: are these the "great-grandchildren" of those ancient objects? And the movements, after millennia, are they not the same? Is there a comparison between these tools from the prehistoric section and those from the material culture section?
Moreover, alongside the various possibilities for research and in-depth study—whose interdisciplinary nature and adaptability to school programs seem very clear to us—there is also the desire to integrate the proposal with the creation of videotapes, theatrical performances, traveling exhibitions, training courses, and guided tours.
Thus creating the foundations and offering the tools for a museum to become a stimulus for everyone to discover who we are and where we come from.
