The Museum of Reproductions of Bilbao and Tecnalia develop new forms of interaction with art

Technaly Research & Innovation, the first private applied research center in Spain, and the Museum of Artistic Reproductions of Bilbao have developed an interactive system through which the sculptures themselves provide information. The application, installed on the Panathenaean Frieze, allows you to complete non-existent parts and recovers the original polychrome.

The Museum of Artistic Reproductions of Bilbao and Tecnalia collaborate to identify and jointly develop new forms of interaction with art that serve to enrich the experience of Museum visitors. As the first step of this collaboration, Tecnalia has installed an interactive art system in which, combining different technologies, the reproductions themselves exhibited in the Museum can provide multimedia information to visitors. The system will allow visitors to interact with the works exhibited in the Museum in a way that improves the experience by providing them with more information in a more attractive way..

The pilot experience has been carried out on a fragment of the Panathenaic Frieze, The original of which is in the British Museum and is part of the temporary exhibition “Akropolis. Living Myths". The application allows you to contemplate the parts that do not exist or have deteriorated over the centuries.. Even, recreates the original polychrome, following the guidelines set by archeology. The system allows, in addition, interact with a part of the frieze depicting Athena, Hephaestus and Poseidon.

The project is being developed in two parts. In the first phase, the necessary hardware has been installed and simple interactions have been implemented to ensure the success of a more complex project., and show the possibilities of the Bilbao Museum of Reproductions. Will allow, also, collect first impressions to adapt the second phase to new requirements both from the point of view of visitors and those responsible for the exhibition.

In a second phase, more complex functionalities will be applied, that allow greater interaction and with more attractive results, thus managing to surprise users and maximize their experience and learning from the exposed content.. Besides, A study of the interaction pattern by visitors will be carried out to draw conclusions on how to maximize and facilitate the experience in the use of these technologies..

Parthenon Frieze

The application developed by Tecnalia has been implemented on the Paneteneas Frieze, that decorated the interior of the Parthenon. The festival of Panathenaea was the most important religious celebration in ancient Athens.. According to its inhabitants, The holiday was created by Erechtheus, mythical king of the polis, venerated in the Erechtheion. The festival commemorated the prodigious birth of Athena, the protective goddess of the city. It was celebrated, annually, during the month of Hecatombeon (August) but, every four years, The ceremonies were enriched and prolonged, giving rise to the Great Paneteneas. The party took place on the day 28 of that month, on the exact date of Athena's birth. The central ceremony of the event consisted of the delivery of a new garment for the ancient statue of the goddess that was kept in the Erechtheion.. After the offering, a sacrifice of one hundred cattle was carried out on the altar of Athena.

The frieze shows how a procession of Athenian men and women advances, from the west, on the north and south sides of the temple, until you meet in the east, where you can see the central scene of the ritual. In the frieze it is represented, in a symbolic way, to the main social groups that made up Athens at the time, while referring to the political order of the city. Some theories suggest that the number of warriors represented corresponds to that of the Athenians who fell in the famous battle of Marathon.. The procession converges on the east side, in which the twelve Olympic divinities can be seen, surrounded by the ten eponymous heroes of the Athenian tribes. These were the mythical characters that gave name to each of the ten tribes of Attica.

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