Travelogue on the Origins of Spatial Experiences 1. What lies beyond the ignorance

nice to meet you. My name is Kameyama. For nearly a quarter of a century, we have been working on the creation of exhibition spaces among the many types of spatial experiences. Based on this experience, I would like to summarize the purpose of nomlog = "Pursue the possibility of space and experience".

This is because spaces such as social or physical distancing, online meetings, zoom drinking parties and tea parties have become commonplace in response to the new coronavirus, and new spatial experiences have begun. It seems useful to have a simple grasp of the possible peculiarities and advantages of

Knowing the etymology of words and characters will make understanding and communication smoother (although I should be careful not to fall into nostalgia or retro style). You may be able to get hints for thinking about and enhancing the possibilities of spatial experiences together. We start with such a faint and light expectation.

A road sign prohibiting U-turns caught my eye while running late at night. The road is full of hints that come across by chance. While keeping my feet on the ground, I try to keep a log that is not just a backtracking.

Homo sapiens who traveled to Africa: "Spatial experience" of human history

The past few months have been filled with many unknowns, but I think that one of the things that can soothe such uncertainties is "history."
Even if I browse the web, radio, television, bookstores, etc., I have the impression that I have seen a lot of programs and contents that take up the history books and the novel "The Plague" that look back on the Spanish flu that shook the world in the early 20th century.
There are many places where you can experience such "history" in space, but one of the places that I would like to visit is the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno, Tokyo, on the second basement floor of the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno, Tokyo. I have.

National Museum of Nature and Science Basement 2nd Floor, Human Evolution (Photographing cooperation: National Museum of Nature and Science)

〇 Kahaku VR
here to tour the inside of the National Museum of Nature and Science from your smartphone or PC screen. Please take a look at the 2nd basement floor of the "Earth Museum".Click

It is an exhibition space dealing with the evolution of mankind, and you can learn about the history of us humans (Homo sapiens) who were born on the African continent and spread from Africa to Europe and Asia, and then to the whole earth.
What we can learn from this exhibition space is that, in various parts of the world, ingenuity has been devised to adapt to unfamiliar environmental barriers (= harsh dryness, coldness, food security, etc.). It is a fact that human beings have been able to spread all over the earth by overcoming barriers by practicing and improving over several generations.

Knowing this history, for example, the spread of the new corona infection, which is a disaster derived from the natural environment = barriers, can be overcome with some ingenuity. (Of course, we are optimistic that the corona crisis we are facing now is a different problem from the era when humans spread across the earth, and is related to urbanization and the global economy, and it is an issue of a different dimension that involves damage to the medical system and economic activities. You won't be able to see it.)

Capturing the "Evolution of Humanity" exhibit from the perspective of spatial experience

If you just want to know the evolution of mankind, you can say that books and video content are sufficient because we have been able to explain with text so far.
In contrast to this, what function does the exhibition space of "Human Evolution" have? If we can verbalize functions that are different from texts and images, we may be able to grasp one of the unique characteristics of spatial experiences.
The "Human Evolution" exhibition consists of three main elements. The first is Homo sapiens: the continents and oceans that humans have spread to are printed on the floor. The third is the excavation of actual materials such as hunting, fishing, and gathering tools, sewing needles and clothes, musical instruments, and accessories, which can be said to be evidence of overcoming barriers in each area.・It is arranged for each excavated area.

With these elements of the exhibition composition, it is possible to trace the routes and distances of human journeys in Africa with a sense of simulated experience. I will understand.

Turning pages in a book, scene development in a video, and scrolling and clicking links in the web are the actions of "walking," which is an act of human evolution. I can.

What I would like to pay more attention to is the effect of autonomous, active, and extended thinking, such as imagining and thinking, which goes beyond knowing. For example, if you walk from Africa to the north along the land in order to learn about the spread of people from continent to continent, you will come to a place like a crossroads where the road to Europe and the road to Asia divide.
So what happened here? When I went further and saw the islands scattered in the ocean of the Pacific Ocean, where did the people on the islands come from, such as Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, and South America? Such awareness and imagination may be easily generated by the "input of information through space" encountered by walking.

What do you think.
I believe that one of the possibilities of spatial experience is to activate independent, active, and expansive dynamic thinking that occurs around "knowing." (Antonyms include heteronomous, passive, and convergent static thinking. It is similar to searching and looking up a dictionary. Of course, searching and looking up a dictionary also expands new understandings and interests. There is also a dynamic case)

What lies beyond the horizon? Homo sapiens: Human beings may be the reason why I have such an interest. (From Mt. Kinka, Oshika Peninsula jutting out from the Pacific Ocean)

Another Possibility—Satisfaction Brought by “Understanding”, Expectations Raised by “Not Understanding”

I have been talking about the exhibition space of the National Museum of Nature and Science, but what is the exhibition space in the first place? For example, exhibitions at museums and galleries, branding spaces and showrooms at companies and shops, information and visitor centers at tourist sites, science centers and library experiment and study spaces, etc. It is a space experience place for the purpose of conveying and expressing some kind of message using services as the theme.
Since the purpose of establishing and operating such a space is to communicate and express, There is a strong tendency for spatial experiences to be easy to understand. I'm starting to think.

"I don't know" is a negative concept that causes anxiety and frustration, just like the days of corona misfortune, but when you get over the unknown state, you can get a new world, a hidden opportunity It can be seen as a positive concept. Homo sapiens: The fact that humans spread all over the earth makes me think so.

Looking at the real world, 2019 was a year of many exhibitions and books on the theme of "I don't understand."
For example, exhibitions such as the Chigasaki City Museum of Art “The Road to the Museum” and the Chiba City Museum of Art “Eyes [mé] I Don’t Understand Very Clearly” attracted attention. : To connect the incomprehensible” has been well received.
In the background of the fact that "I don't know" has attracted attention, there are doubts and reactions to the fact that we cannot see the future in the dizzying changes of technology and society, and that we are surrounded by an abundance of information, searching for it, and the use of AI. may have been And so on, it is a theme that is buried with many hints to look into the future.

This discussion is also intriguing, but the main issue here is to focus on the "possibilities of spatial experience." The two exhibitions I introduced were creative in expressing and experiencing what I don't understand, and they taught me a lot when thinking about the possibilities of spatial experience.

○ Click here for the link to the Chigasaki City Museum of Art “The Road to the Art Museum” (hereinafter referred to as “Tsuzuku Exhibition”)

○ Click here for the link to the Chiba City Museum of Art “Eyes [mé] Very Unclear” exhibition (hereafter referred to as “Eye Exhibition”)

For more information on the two exhibitions, please refer to the website, catalogs, and record reports, and look back on the exhibitions from the perspective of spatial experience. The "Tsutsuku Exhibition" is an exhibition inspired by an episode of a visually impaired person who said, "I enjoyed the route to the museum because it was complicated and difficult to understand." Based on the perspective that all people have different sensory characteristics, five works were exhibited, depicting the path to the museum and its surroundings, captured by the artist walking together with people with various disabilities. rice field. The Chigasaki City Museum of Art is a one-of-a-kind space, but there are as many ways of perceiving it, i.e. spatial experiences, as there are people. increase. The point related to the main theme is that this awareness was strongly realized because of the spatial experience that works with the sense organs such as eyes, ears, and nose, as well as memory and empirical knowledge.
"Me Exhibition" is an example of a spatial experience that immerses you in the unknown in the exhibition space. As I wandered around the exhibition space, I felt like I had lost my sense of direction and position, asking, "Where am I now?" All the sensory organs necessary for spatial experience were aroused. It was my first experience to be able to look objectively while enjoying the excitement of working with all my sensory abilities to overcome my incomprehension.

The two exhibitions make us realize that there are practical and structural aspects to the possibilities of spatial experience.
From a practical point of view, spatial experience has the potential to be effective in objectively viewing understanding of others and understanding of oneself, which is indispensable in today's society, which emphasizes multicultural coexistence and the value of diversity. to be The popularity of the “Dialogue in the Dark” program, which allows people with visual impairments to simulate living in the city and confirm their feelings and understanding at that time, has also demonstrated the potential of spatial experiences. It may be.
In terms of structure, there is excitement that can be experienced when struggling to overcome ``unknown'', and this excitement is brought about by ``a sensation that mobilizes all five senses, memories, and knowledge''. In other words, "a sense that mobilizes all five senses, memories, and knowledge" -- how should I describe this? It can be said that the ingenuity to make the trout work increases the possibility of spatial experience.

As the so-called new normal begins, I will continue to explore the factors that make <whole person sense> work.
From the next time onwards, I would like to focus on spatial experiences and "online/offline," "imagination," and "contingency."

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