Mettere in mostra, mettere in scena. Il linguaggio del palcoscenico nella pratica dell’esporre

Abstract

Increasingly, exhibition design uses methods derived from theater staging to enhance its attractions. and this is not merely a choice dictated by practical or economic considerations, but rather by a genuine aesthetic of space. This happens because the strength of an internal space lies within dramaturgy. Specifically, when dealing with an exhibition space today, it is necessary to blend media, spectacle, and reality to construct an environmental narrative that connects content, container, and visitor, giving the latter a simulation of reality capable of engaging them as active participants within the space. An exhibition, to avoid being a simple hanging, must be staged, not only from an aesthetic point of view: just like in theater, in exhibitions, the image presented reveals a philosophy, a necessity, a reflection on current events. This occurs through a journey that is a narrative, making the exhibited objects speak as if they were characters, in direct relation with the viewer. The experience of constructed scenography from the second half of the 20th century is crucial in the realization of exhibition spaces like those of Margherita Palli and Pierluigi Pizzi, where the syncretism of languages succeeds in making the narrative more comprehensible, even turning the scenographer into a “director of exhibitions”.