Etnolog 16 (2006) KDO S E M? Nekaj misli ob stalni postavitvi v novih prostorih Slovenskega etnografskega muzeja Lidija Tav~ar 207 ^e pomislim, da je stalna zbirka slovenske umetnosti v Narodni galeriji plod ve~ kot osemdesetih let raziskovanj in nekajkratnih preoblikovanj, je kustosom SEM uspel pravcati podvig, ko so strnili znanje in mo~i ter v enem desetletju zasnovali in uresni~ili scenarij za prvo postavitev stalne zbirke v novi muzejski hi{i. Iz ve~ kot 30.000 resda `e raziskanih in deponiranih predmetov so izlu{~ili izbor artefaktov za stalno zbirko, ki naj bi poleg vsega predstavljala tudi regionalne posebnosti, na drugi strani pa ob~instvu pribli`ala tudi ”druga~nost” zunajevropskih zbirk. Pogled iz drugega zornega kota na stalno zbirko v Slovenskem etnografskem muzeju bo zgolj fragmentaren ter subjektiven in bo sku{al na podlagi detajlov predstaviti druga~ne predloge in namige, kajti “ljubi Bog ti~i v detajlu”, je bojda izjavil umetnostni zgodovinar Aby M. Warburg. Postavitev stalne zbirke SEM razbiram kot preplet komplementarnih in obenem kontrastnih dvojic (slovenska etnolo{ka obmo~ja – odsev daljnih svetov; narava – kultura; preteklost – sedanjost; posameznik – skupine; “nemi” predmet – posnetki njegove prvotne rabe; zvok – ti{ina; razstavljeni predmeti v vitrinah – predmeti v premi~nih, pokon~nih omarah; slovensko – angle{ko besedilo; odrasli obiskovalec – obiskovalec otrok). Ta me{anica vsebinskih, muzeolo{kih, muzeografskih, edukativnih in {e kak{nih zna~ilnosti je zajeta v zgodbo postavitve, v kateri imajo muzealije primarno vlogo in so hkrati nosilke pripovedi. Zgodbo postavitve vidim kot ~asovni in prostorski lok, z delitvami na dejanja, prizore. Ker so na~rtovalci stalne postavitve velikokrat uporabili besedo scenarij – ki je nepogre{ljiv pri snemanju filma –, sem se oprla na besedilo Michela Chiona Napisati scenarij. Med drugim je avtor v njem zapisal: “Ekspozicija je za~etni del scenarija, v katerem so gledalcu predo~eni razli~ni elementi in izhodi{~a, iz katerih bo izhajala zgodba, ki bo povedana: glavne osebe, prizori{~a, izhodi{~ni polo`aj …” (Chion 1987: 120) Uvodni fi lm Kdo SEM? udejanja prav to njegovo defi nicijo. In ~e sledimo Chionu, nastopi za ekspozicijo tako imenovani trnek ali vaba ali kljuka (Chion 1987: 122), ki ima nalogo, da ~imprej spodbudi radovednost in takoj pritegne gledal~evo pozornost. Malo za {alo, malo zares je ta namig v zgodbi postavitve dobesedno uresni~en `e v prvem razstavnem sklopu Voda in zemlja, kjer se trnkom in vabam pridru`ijo {e pasti. Chion tudi poudarja: “Pogosto je treba v scenarij vnesti elipse, Etnolog 16 - 11.indd 207 11/26/06 11:09:46 PM Lidija Tav~ar se pravi, namerne izpuste nekaterih fragmentov zgodbe, kakega trenutka ali posebne podrobnosti – izpuste, ki jih gledalec lahko (ali pa ne) v mislih dopolni.” (Chion 1987: 137) Spra{ujem se, ali so na~rtovalci v prvem sklopu namerno izpustili strelno lovsko oro`je, ker so pri~akovali, da ga bodo obiskovalci v mislih dopolnili? Ali pa je na delu prikrivanje krvavih dimenzij lova s krutostjo, smrtjo? Raznolike pasti ka`ejo na lovsko iznajdljivost, vendar se zdi, da so predstavljene predvsem kot domiselni izdelki, njihova primarna naloga – ubijanje – pa je prikrita. Izbor estetsko razvr{~enih kme~kih orodij mi je priklical v spomin poimenovanja, ki so jih pred mnogimi desetletji (morda sedaj?) uporabljali kmetje in koloni v vaseh okoli Gorice: pikon (kramp); pika~a (?, uporabljali pri pletju); {ubla (lopata); sapon (?, uporabljali pri globokem kopanju); {apa (?, za osipanje krompirja); ren~elica (za 208Esekanje vej); ti{lerski b’nk (mizarska miza); {ejon (`aga za hlode); `aget (majhna `aga, uporabljali pri cepljenju dreves); fou~ (v obliki manj{ega srpa) itd. Poimenovanja orodij se razlikujejo po geografskih obmo~jih, zato bi morda lahko obiskovalci pestrost imen prebirali in prepoznavali v ”slovarju”, z nazorno predstavljenimi ilustracijami, ali jih celo sami vpisovali v za to pripravljeni zvezek. K ohranjanju jezikovnih in drugih specifi~nosti nas nagovarja tudi predlog novega zakona o varstvu kulturne dedi{~ine, v katerega je vklju~ena tudi nematerialna, neotipljiva dedi{~ina, kamor prav gotovo spadajo za dolo~eno obmo~je zna~ilna poimenovanja predmetov. S tem zgledom pa nikakor ne o~itam avtorjem, da so pozabili na interakcijo med obiskovalci in muzealijami ne v tem delu ne v nadaljevanju stalne zbirke. S posnetki predstavljajo strojno obdelavo polj, ko{njo s kosilnicami kot protiute` ro~ni obdelavi in tako ustvarjajo most med preteklostjo in sedanjostjo. Pred dobrimi petnajstimi leti so v zahodnoevropskih muzejih na {iroko odprli vrata elektronskim medijem in najrazli~nej{im u~inkom. Prirejanje razstav je postala prava industrija. Ob tehnolo{ko zahtevnih postavitvah je sodelovala razvejana mre`a strokovnih ekip, ki so skrbele za elektroniko in oblikovanje s ciljem, da bi pribli`ali muzeje ~im {ir{emu krogu ob~instva. ^e smo iskreni, so muzealce v tak{no razmi{ljanje, v na~rtovanje in uresni~itev predvsem silili neizprosni tr`ni zakoni. ^e so `eleli fi nan~no pre`iveti, so morali izumljati druga~ne oblike predstavljanja svojih eksponatov. Posledi~no so se tovrstni muzeji lahko pohvalili s pove~anim obiskom od televizije in ra~unalni{kega medmre`ja razvajene publike in z ve~jim prilivom dohodka. Naj ob tej problematiki spomnim na eno izmed Lyotardovih tez, in sicer tisto o “smrti profesorja” v postmoderni dobi, ki predpostavlja nadome{~anje profesorja v vlogi prena{alca vednosti z u~inkovitimi, ra~unalni{ko posredovanimi bazami podatkov. Glede na pravkar re~eno bi lahko po analogiji predvideli “smrt muzejskega pedagoga”, ki naj bi ga prav tako kot profesorja v vlogi posredovalca informacij vse bolj nadome{~ala sofi sticirana tehnologija (Tav~ar 2003: 183–184). Sklep, ki bi ga torej lahko izpeljali, je: v muzejih in galerijah ni potrebe po kustosih pedagogih. Toda raziskovalci-muzealci so dognali, da obiskovalci prakti~no ne gledajo ve~ muzejskega predmeta, temve~ le multimedijske u~inke. Na podlagi skrb zbujajo~ih rezultatov so muzealci kmalu zatem pri~eli zmanj{evati uporabo elektronskih medijev v razstavnih prostorih in v sredi{~e ponovno postavili izvirni predmet, ki ima edini kulturno vrednost. In vloga animatorjev, komunikologov, kustosov Etnolog 16 - 11.indd 208 11/26/06 11:09:47 PM Kdo S E M? pedagogov, torej tistih, ki so posredovalci med kulturno dedi{~ino ali sodobno likovno produkcijo in vsemi vrstami obiskovalcev, je ponovno skupaj z izvirnim predmetom stopila v ospredje. V slovenskem prostoru za mno`i~no uporabo elektronskih medijev v razstavnih prostorih nismo nikoli imeli zagotovljenih sredstev, torej bi lahko sklepali, da so na{i obiskovalci v muzejih in galerijah vseskozi gledali predvsem muzejske predmete. Kaj se lahko nau~imo iz pravkar re~enega? Prvi~: modnih novosti, ki jih izumljajo v bogatej{ih dr`avah, ni potrebno vselej brez premisleka sprejeti in je v~asih celo dobro, da vztrajamo na svoji uhojeni poti in pri ubornih sredstvih, ki jih imamo na voljo, saj je zapoznelost v primerjavi z razvitimi dr`avami itak stalnica v slovenskem razvoju. Tisti, ki sogla{ajo s tak{nimi mnenji, imajo celo prav, kajti po desetletju obsedenosti z elektronskimi efekti se je izkazalo, da je projekt zgre{il bistvo. Drugi~: srednja pot in prava mera sta najbolj{i. Avdiovizualizacije so klju~nega pomena pri rekonstrukciji 209 konteksta predmeta, pri njegovi ponovni o`ivitvi. Videofilm ob tak{nih razstavljenih, “nemih” predmetih obiskovalcem nazorno prika`e vpetost predmeta v avtenti~ni prostor in pribli`a njegovo nekdanjo uporabnost. In prav pravo mero so “zadeli” in upo{tevali na~rtovalci v Slovenskem etnografskem muzeju. Na premi{ljen na~in so postavili ekrane, tako da zainteresirani obiskovalci lahko s filmskih projekcij spoznavajo predmete v avtenti~nih ambientih in v njihovi prvotni funkciji, saj bi najbr` druga~e v gledal~evih o~eh ostali zgolj “neme” razstavljene muzealije. Pri prizoru, ki opozarja na ekonomski vidik izseljenstva, pogre{am specifi ~no primorski pojav. Primorske `ene so kot dojilje odplule v daljni Egipt in doma pustile ravnokar rojene otroke. Kako ~ustveno pretresenost in tragiko, razmi{ljanja in prilagajanje novim `ivljenjskim razmeram dojilj – t. i. aleksandrink – predstaviti sodobnikom, ki danes v to de`elo odhajajo kot turisti, pa je `e drug problem. V sklopu Potrebno in nepotrebno, ki se po barvi sten lo~i od prej{njega razdelka, so sicer nakazane razlike med pode`eljem in me{~anstvom v bivalni opremi, priboru, obla~enju itd. V tem delu pogre{am ob razstavljenih zibelkah katero od slik, ki so jih naslikali Vesnani in v razmislek predlagam Gasparijev Bohinjski motiv1 in [antlovo sliko Babica ziblje vnuka2. Gledalec bi br`kone takoj povezal v “dvogovoru” sliki z razstavljenimi zibelkami in ugotovil, da te niso bile samo prostor za spanje otroka, temve~ so otroci pre`iveli v njih cel dan, v njih so jih nesli na delo, na polje in na ko{njo, kar je videti na Gasparijevem motivu. Razbrali bi, da so ostareli ostali doma in tako kot babica na [antlovi sliki varovali novorojen~ke. Kot protiute` omenjenima motivoma bi bil primeren Langusov portret Lojzka Orel z otroki 3 z upodobljenim ”me{~anskim ljube~im” odnosom do otrok. V nadaljevanju nesistemati~no na{tevam opa`anja oziroma pripombe. Izvirno in domiselno so v postavitev zajeta talna ”okna”. Prav tako je estetsko in razgibano razvr{~ena razstavna oprema z eksponati v vitrinah, ki dajejo vtis rekonstruiranih 1 Maksim Gaspari (1883–1980), Bohinjski motiv, NG S 2273. 2 Sa{a Šantel (1883–1945), Babica ziblje vnuka, 1916, NG S 386. 3 Matevž Langus (1792–1855), Lojzka Orel z otroki, 1830, NG S 1190. Etnolog 16 - 11.indd 209 11/26/06 11:09:47 PM Lidija Tav~ar ambientov. Ta je dopolnjena s premi~nimi pokon~nimi omarami, v katerih se skrivajo na svetlobo ob~utljivi najrazli~nej{i tekstilni izdelki. Na sploh se spra{ujem, kako so muzealci dosegli ustrezno vlago, temperaturo in svetlobo za ves spekter razstavljenega gradiva, ki obsega kovine, les, blago itd. Na postavitvi se zvok ustrezno izmenjuje s ti{ino, vendar bi ob glasbilih resni~no raje sli{ala zvok namesto ti{ine. Neuravnote`eno je razmerje med {tevilnimi muzealijami, ki pripadajo slovenskim etnolo{kim obmo~jem, in med zunajevropskimi skromno zastopanimi eksponati, kar je sicer razumljivo. Manj v{e~no je, da so pri slovenskih etnolo{kih podro~jih prevedene v angle{~ino samo uvodne razlage, druga opozorila pa ne. Ne morem se znebiti vtisa, da je tu na~rtovalcem preprosto zmanjkalo prostora za dodatne prevode, zato tujejezi~ni obiskovalec muzeja za marsikatero razstavljeno etnolo{ko posebnost ne more razbrati pomena. Obratno so 210Ena “zunajevropski strani” na didaskalijah natisnjene prevedene razlage v celoti. Re{itev problema vidim v natisu kataloga ali priro~nega vodnika tako za slovenskega kot tujega vedo`eljnega obiskovalca. Povezovalni razstavni ~len med slovenskimi in zunajevropskimi zbirkami je interaktivni prostor Etno-Abeceda`, ki ga bom po Hooper - Greenhillovi (Hooper -Greenhill: 183) ozna~ila za Discovery Room. S to novostjo so v muzeju odprli novo stran pri populariziranju zbirke pri najmlaj{ih in dru`inah. Tradicionalne metode so spremenili v stimulativne in najmlaj{i obiskovalci resni~no dejavno pridobivajo nova znanja, ki so zastavljena problemsko, vendar na vabljiv in igriv na~in. Tako kot pove `e naslov, je glavno vodilo abeceda; etnografske predmete in pojme uvajajo ~rke, ki so razvr{~ene v nekak{nem labirintu. Naj za poku{ino na{tejem samo nekaj zgledov: ~rko A vpeljuje razstavljena avba, ob njej na steni visijo razli~na druga pokrivala, ki si jih otroci lahko nadenejo in se obenem u~ijo novih besed. Pri ~rki ^ odprejo predal in odkrijejo v njem razli~ne ~ipke, od ro~ne do industrijsko izdelane. S stripom je predstavljena zgodba o desetnici, ki uvaja ~rko D. ^e sem pri “zbirki za odrasle” pri glasbilih pogre{ala zvok, so ga na~rtovalci tu, pri interaktivni igri, upo{tevali. Nadvse je vabljiva “ra~unalni{ka igra” o krompirju, ki seveda uvaja ~rko K. In tako po vrsti vse do ~rke @ otroci usvajajo nove pojme z vsemi petimi ~uti, z zaznavanjem, opazovanjem, s poizkusi, primerjanjem, izlo~anjem, poslu{anjem, razmi{ljanjem. ^e je bil ob prihodu v Etno-Abeceda` za otroke marsikateri predmet “tuj”, neznan, ker ga ni ve~ v njihovem `ivljenjskem okolju, imajo pri odhodu iz Discovery Room zanesljivo usvojene vse etnografske predmete in pojme. In ~e sem se v uvodu navezovala na Chiona, naj {e sklenem z njegovim razmi{ljanjem o zaklju~ku scenarija: “V~asih imamo opravka s t. i. ’odprtim’ koncem, ki ohrani neko skrivnost, nek neizpeljan na~rt, te`avo in v~asih celo zaklju~i pripoved brez kon~nega spopada.” (Chion 1987: 124) Stalno zbirko SEM razbiram v tem smislu: razpleta ni, ker pri~akujem, da bo zbirka nikoli dokon~ana zgodba. Etnolog 16 - 11.indd 210 11/26/06 11:09:47 PM Kdo S E M? LITERATURA CHION, Michel 1987 Napisati scenarij. Ljubljana : Revija Ekran. HOOPER - GREENHILL, Eilean 1994 Museum and Gallery Education. Leicester : Leicester University Press. LARCHER, Dietmar 1991 Med moderno in postmoderno : muzejska pedagogika v iskanju paradigme. V: Muzeoforum : zbornik muzeolo{kih predavanj, str. 59–65. TAV^AR, Lidija 2003 Zgodovinska konstitucija modernega muzeja kot sestavine sodobne zahodne civilizacije. Ljubljana : ISH - Fakulteta za podiplomski humanisti~ni {tudij : Narodna galerija. 211 Etnolog 16 - 11.indd 211 11/26/06 11:09:48 PM 212 Stalna razstava SEM Med naravo in kulturo, foto: N. @gank, 2006 Etnolog 16 - 11.indd 212 11/26/06 11:09:48 PM Etnolog 16 (2006) WHO AM I? Refl ections on the permanent exhibition in the new building of the Slovene Ethnographic Museum Lidija Tav~ar 213 If I remind myself that the permanent collection of Slovene art in the National Gallery is the fruit of over eighty years of research and several transformations, I must say that the curators of SEM have managed a remarkable feat by joining their knowledge and efforts, conceiving and realising within one decade the scenario for the fi rst installation of the permanent collection in the museum’s new building. Out of over 30,000 objects – albeit already researched and stored – they have made a selection of artefacts for the permanent collection, which is also to present regional specifics, and on the other hand introduce the public to the different nature of its Non-European collections. This view of the permanent exhibition in the Slovene Ethnographic Museum from a different angle is necessarily fragmentary and subjective and attempts to present, based on details from the exhibition, proposals, tips, and challenges, because as the art historian Aby M. Warburg is reported to have said, “God is in the detail”. I see the installation of the permanent collection of the SEM as interlaced complementary and simultaneously contrasting pairs (Slovene ethnological areas – reflections from faraway worlds; nature – culture; past – present; individual – group; “mute” object – records of its original use; sound –silence; objects exhibited in showcases – objects in moving, upright cases; Slovene texts – English texts; adult visitor – visiting child). This mixture of museological, museographic, educational, and other features is captured in the story of the installation, in which the primary role is played by the objects which also support the narration. I see the story of the installation as a temporal and spatial arch, divided into acts or scenes. As the curators of the permanent installation often use the term scenario or script – indispensable when shooting a film –, I have based my reflections on Michel Chion’s “Napisati scenarij (Écrire le scénario). Chion among others writes: “The exposition is the initial part of the script in which the viewer is introduced to different elements and starting points from which the story that is to be told will develop: the main characters, the scenes, the starting condition …” (Chion 1987: 120). The introductory fi lm Who am I? precisely materialises his defi nition. If we further follow Chion, the exposition is followed by the bait or hook (Chion 1987: 122), whose task is to arouse curiosity and attract the viewer’s attention right away. Now, whether we take things from the humorous side or seriously, this tip is Etnolog 16 - 11.indd 213 11/26/06 11:09:52 PM Lidija Tav~ar realized quite literally in the story of the installation, in the first section entitled Water and Earth, where baits and hooks are joined by traps. Chion also emphasises: “It is often necessary to insert ellipses in the script, that is to leave out certain fragments of the story on purpose, some moments or special details, which the viewer complements (or not) in his mind.” (Chion 1987: 137) I wonder if the planners of the first section left out hunting guns on purpose, expecting the visitors to add them in their imagination, Or was the intention to hide the bloody dimension of hunting, its cruelty, death? The variety of traps certainly witnesses to the inventiveness of hunters, but they are primarily presented as imaginative products and their primary purpose – killing – is ignored. The selection of aesthetically arranged agricultural tools reminded me of the names which were used many decades ago (or even today?) by peasants and coloni in 214 the villages around Gorica: pikon (pickaxe); pika~a (?, used in weeding); {ubla (spade); sapon (?, used in deep digging); {apa (?, for hilling up potato plants); ren~elica (for cutting branches); ti{lerski b’nk (a joiner’s bench); {ejon (log saw); `aget (small saw, used in grafting trees); fou~ (shaped like a small sickle), etc. The names of tools differ by geographical areas and the visitors may be introduced to the variety of names and recognize them in an illustrated “dictionary”, or may even enter them in a notebook available for that purpose. The preservation of linguistic and other specifi c features is also emphasised in the proposed new act on cultural heritage protection, including the intangible heritage to which the typical names of objects in particular areas certainly belong. This example is not given to criticise the curators as if they had forgotten about the interaction between visitors and objects in this or in any other section. Records present the machines used in the fields, harvesting with harvesters as a counterpoint to manual work and thus bridge past and present. Some fifteen years ago, West-European museums threw open their doors to the electronic media and a variety of effects. Staging an exhibition was turned into a real industry. Technologically demanding installations required the collaboration of a wide network of professional teams in charge of the electronics and design in order to bring museums closer to the public. To be honest, museum workers were forced into such reflections, planning and realisations by the inexorable market laws. To survive fi nancially museums had to invent different forms of presenting their exhibits. As a result, museums which followed the trend could pride themselves on increased numbers of visitors from the ranks of a public “spoiled” by television and the internet, and on higher incomes. In this connection, may I remind the reader of one of Lyotard’s theses, anticipating the “death of the professor” in the postmodern age, assuming the replacement of professors in their role of transmitters of knowledge by efficient, computer mediated databases. In view of the above, we may also anticipate the “death of the museum educator”, who would equally be replaced as a transmitter of information by increasingly sophisticated technology (Tav~ar 2003: 183–184). And this would take us to the conclusion that museums and galleries have no need for curators-educators. However, museum workers – researchers established that the visitors no longer watched the objects, but only the multimedia effects. Based on these concern - raising findings, museum workers soon started to reduce the use of electronic media in exhibition spaces and once more put Etnolog 16 - 11.indd 214 11/26/06 11:09:53 PM Who am I? the original object, which exclusively has a cultural value, in the centre. The role of animator, communicologist, curator-educator, that is of everybody who intermediates between the cultural heritage or modern art production and all kinds of visitors was again assumed by the original object. In our Slovene environment we never had enough funds for the widespread use of electronic media, and we may thus assume that the visitors of our museums and galleries continued to watch the museum objects all the time. What can we learn from these developments? First of all: fashionable novelties invented in much richer countries should not always be accepted without refl ection, and it is often even better to stay on the trodden path and rely on the meagre funds we have at our disposal. The backlog behind the developed countries is in any case a constant theme in Slovenia’s development. And people who agree with such opinions are quite right, because after a decade of obsession with electronic effects it became obvious that 215 these projects missed the point. Secondly: the middle way and the proper measure are the best solutions. Audiovisual materials are of key importance in the reconstruction of the context of an object, in its revival. With such exhibited, “mute” objects, a video shows the visitors clearly how an object was embedded in an authentic environment and makes them familiar with its past usefulness. The people who planned the permanent exhibition in the Slovene Ethnographic Museum used the proper measure. The screens are placed in a well thought-out arrangement, the interested visitors can view film projections and learn about objects in their authentic environments and original functions, whereas otherwise they would remain “mute” exhibits. In the scene which illustrates the economic aspect of emigration, I miss a specifi c phenomenon from Primorska. Women from Primorska travelled to faraway Egypt to serve as wet-nurses, leaving behind their newly born babies. How to present the emotional stress and tragic fate, reflections, and adaptation to the new living conditions of these women – called the Alexandrian women – to contemporaries, who travel to Egypt as tourists, is of course another problem. The section Necessary and Unnecessary, separated from the previous one by the colour of the walls, does indicate the differences between the countryside and the towns in furnishings, accessories, dressing, etc. What I miss in this part with the exhibited cradles is one of the paintings made by the members of Vesna, and I would like to suggest Gaspari’s Bohinj motif1 and [antl’s Granny rocking her grandson2. The viewer would then probably associate them in a dialogue with the exhibited cradles and establish that they were not just for sleeping but that babies spent the whole day in them, were carried to work, the field or harvest in them, as in Gaspari’s painting. He would guess that the elderly stayed at home and like the granny in [antl’s painting took care of the newly born. A suitable counterpoint to these two motifs would be Langus’s portrait Lojzka Orel and her children 3 illustrating the loving attitude of the bourgeoisie to children. 1 Maksim Gaspari (1883–1980), Bohinjski motiv, NG S 2273. 2 Sa{a Šantel (1883–1945), Babica ziblje vnuka, 1916, NG S 386. 3 Matevž Langus (1792–1855), Lojzka Orel z otroki, 1830, NG S 1190. Etnolog 16 - 11.indd 215 11/26/06 11:09:53 PM Lidija Tav~ar What now follows are observations and remarks listed unsystematically. The fl oor “windows” are included in the installation in a quite original and imaginative way. The exhibition furniture, containing exhibits in showcases which give the impression of reconstructed ambiences, is arranged aesthetically and with a lot of variety. It is complemented by movable upright cases in which textiles, sensitive to light, are exhibited. In general, I wonder how suitable humidity, temperature and lighting has been achieved for the range of exhibited material including metal, wood, fabric, etc. Sound and silence interchange suitably in the exhibition, but I would prefer sound over silence with the exhibited instruments. There is no proper balance between the numerous objects from Slovene ethnological area and the modest number of Non- European exhibits, but this is of course, understandable. Perhaps less understandable is 216Ethat only the introductory explanations of the Slovene ethnological areas are translated into English. It is my impression that the planners simply ran out of space for additional translations, but foreign visitors will not be able to understand the meaning of quite a number of the exhibited ethnological features. In the Non - European section, however, the translations are printed in their entirety on the didaskalia. A solution to this problem would be to publish a bilingual catalogue or practical guide to the exhibition for both the Slovene and foreign visitors. The element linking the Slovene and non-European collections is the interactive room Ethno-ABC, which I would like to call – after Hooper - Greenhill (Hooper - Greenhill: 183) – the Discovery Room. With this novelty the museum has turned a new page in the popularisation of the collection among the youngest visitors and families. Traditional methods have been dropped for stimulating ones and the youngest visitors indeed actively acquire new knowledge through problems they have to solve in an attractive and playful way. As indicated by the title, the Ethno-ABC is the guiding thread; ethnographic objects and concepts are introduced by letters arranged in some kind of labyrinth. A few examples: the letter A is introduced by an exhibited avba, on the wall next to it are various pieces of headwear which the children can put on and learn new words. At the letter ^, they open drawers and discover various types of lace (~ipke) in them, from handmade to industrial lace. A cartoon presents the story of desetnica, introduced by the letter D. If I missed sound with the instruments in the “adult exhibition”, the planners have included it here in the interactive game. The “computer game” about potatoes (krompir) is highly attractive and of course introduced by the letter K. All the way down to the letter @, the children learn new concepts using their five senses, noticing, observing, comparing, eliminating, listening and thinking. Many of the objects are unknown to children when they enter the Ethno-ABC, because they no longer exist in their environment, but when they leave this Discovery Room they have certainly learned about all the exhibited ethnographic objects and concepts. Having quoted Chion in the introduction, I conclude with his reflection on the end of a script: “We sometime use what is called an ’open’ end, which preserves a mystery, a plan no taken to the end, a problem ,and even sometimes finish the narration without a final solution.” (Chion 1987: 124) Etnolog 16 - 11.indd 216 11/26/06 11:09:53 PM Who am I? I see the permanent exhibition of the SEM in this sense: there is no fi nal solution because I expect the collection to be a never-ending story. BIBLIOGRAPHY see page 211. BESEDA O AVTORICI ABOUT THE AUTHOR Lidija Tav~ar, dr., umetnostna zgodovinarka in sociologinja, je muzejska svétnica, zaposlena v Narodni galeriji, kjer je vodja Pedago{kega oddelka. Lidija Tav~ar, Ph. D., an art historian and sociologist, is a museum councillor with the National Gallery, where she heads the Education Department. 217 Etnolog 16 - 11.indd 217 11/26/06 11:09:53 PM