ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the role of bodily experience in the visitor’s engagement with the objects and spaces of the museum. Drawing on the phenomenological writings of Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908–61), as well as recent research in neuropsychology and philosophy on so-called embodied cognition, the chapter puts forward a theoretical framework for what might be called ‘interpretive exhibition design’ – the use of space, setting and the active engagement of the visitor in the creation of more meaningful and memorable encounters with museum objects. The first part of the chapter describes several recent examples of ‘interpretive’ exhibitions at the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen, showing a range of ways in which architectural space can be deployed as a tool for visitor engagement – transcending some of the inherent limitations of traditional text-based interpretation methods. The central section of the chapter draws on a range of historical and emerging research on the role of bodily movement in the ongoing processes of perception and cognition, in order to develop a more effective understanding of the interpretive potential of immersive ‘viewing’ conditions available within museums and exhibition spaces. The final part of the chapter considers the role of the visitor’s bodily movement within the various viewing practices identified in recent research in museum studies. This includes the current revival of interest in embodied, sensory engagement alongside the increasing significance of materiality.
