In recent years the role of embodiment in art perception and creation has become more apparent. Several scholarly contributions, from Merleau Ponty鈥檚 鈥淓ye and Mind鈥 (1991), to Varela鈥檚 et al. 鈥淭he Embodied Mind鈥 (1991) and Lakoff鈥檚 鈥淧hilosophy of the Flesh鈥 (1999), have provided the theoretical framework needed for experimental curatorial initiatives. Moreover, art criticism has undergone a 鈥渟ensory turn鈥, with an ever-increasing number of studies dedicated to the consideration of art鈥檚 multisensory nature. Bacci and Melcher鈥檚 鈥淎rt and the Senses鈥 (2011) captured the multidisciplinary scope and width of this phenomenon. This paper will present three case studies which tackled long-standing art historical questions through advanced digital curatorial work. The exhibitions 鈥淪ounds for Seeing鈥 (Bolzano, Italy), 鈥淚n Resonance鈥 (Mart Museum, Rovereto, Italy) and 鈥淭ouch and Collect鈥 (Harvard Art Museum, Cambridge), will provide a clear methodological example of how it is possible to deploy interdisciplinary methodologies for the fruitful exploration of new curatorial paradigms.
Francesca Bacci is Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Tampa, with interdisciplinary research interests in museum and visual studies, cognitive science and digital technology, and Modern to Contemporary European Art. She completed her Ph.D. in History of Art, as well as a Curatorial Certificate, as a Fulbright Fellow at Rutgers University (USA).
Bacci worked as curator with: MART museum (Rovereto), Guggenheim Museum, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Centre Pompidou, the Mus茅e Rodin, and Courtauld Institute of Art. She co-edited 鈥淎rt and the Senses鈥 (Oxford University Press, 2011 and 2013). Her latest book and exhibition project trace the history of misogyny in art.