A project conceived and realized by Blivet, an interdisciplinary artistic collective, within the RUFA course of Multimedia Arts & Design. Curated by Chiara Giobbe (Museo Nazionale Romano) and RUFA coordinator Francesca Gollo.
Opening: Friday, September 27th, 6:30 PM – Museo Nazionale Romano – Teatro di Palazzo Altemps, Via di Sant’Apollinare, 8 – Rome.
On Friday, September 27th, 2024, the installation “Materia Viva. For a More-than-Human Gaze” was presented in the foyer of the Palazzo Altemps theater on the occasion of the European Heritage Days. The installation, created by Blivet as part of the RUFA master’s degree course in Multimedia Arts & Design, is the result of the research and collaboration between RUFA and Museo Nazionale Romano, aimed at developing innovative projects for the enhancement and communication of the museum’s collections.
Drawing from the cultural heritage of the Museo Nazionale Romano, the project aims to offer an alternative perspective to the traditional anthropocentric artistic narrative.
In pagan mythologies, the animal world appears as an intermediary between the divine and human realms, highlighting a symbiotic and harmonious relationship between species. Focusing on the more-than-human world*, through an anti-speciesist perspective that advocates for the need to find new harmonious forms of relating to the environment, the installation emphasizes those traditionally considered non-main characters: animals, both fantastical and real.
Through a selection process enabled by the “MNR Digitale – collections and archives” platform, which makes the works preserved by the Museo Nazionale Romano accessible to all across its four venues (Terme di Diocleziano, Palazzo Massimo, Palazzo Altemps, and Crypta Balbi), Blivet has designed a digital display system for these non-main characters. These figures come to life through multimedia (hence Materia Viva) and interact with the public. The mixed reality space transforms the foyer of the Palazzo Altemps theater into an immersive environment where visitors encounter the animal world in a new virtual habitat via monitor-portals.
This shift in perspective, from human to animal, not only invites the audience to a change of viewpoint regarding the museum’s artistic heritage but also seeks to create new networks of knowledge on worlds, real and imagined, still to be discovered.
Event Information
Opening: Friday, September 27th, 6:30 PM
Museo Nazionale Romano – Teatro di Palazzo Altemps – Via di Sant’Apollinare, 8 – Rome
The exhibition will be open to the public on September 28-29, 2024, from 10:30 AM to 6:30 PM.
Special opening on Saturday, September 28th from 8:00 PM to 10:30 PM (special ticket price: €1).
Entrance from Piazza Sant’Apollinare, 46 – visit included in the ticket price.