An exhibition in Pavia on electricity and the digital revolution inspired by Alessandro Baricco's book

The Museum of Electrical Technology in Pavia proposes The Game, an itinerary conceived with Scuola Holden that, from Sept. 30, 2022 to Feb. 28, 2023, recounts the last 40 years of technological evolution that have radically altered the lives of each of us, inspired by Alessandro Baricco’s book of the same name. The exhibition, curated by Carlo Berizzi and Francesco Pietra, guides us through the “epochs” of the digital revolution, introduces the protagonists, investigates the past and raises the bar toward the future of technology. Already at the entrance of the museum we can experience firsthand the change recounted by Baricco; playing table soccer, pinball and Space Invaders, we realize that, slowly, in the transition from one game to another everything becomes more abstract, artificial, light and we are captured by a new reality made of screens, keyboards and codes.

The journey starts from theClassical era (1981-1997) when the digitization of text, images and sound takes place, the first PC is made and the network is created. The IBM PC, the famous Commodore 64, the digital camera, the first emails, are all part of this period when a new system of information circulation is developed. Search engines were born to navigate this new world and the first online sales began.

In the era of Colonization (1999-2007), the digital comes closer to everyone, socials are created and smartphones come on the market, all innovations that allow us to stay always connected with the digital; Wikipedia, YouTube but also Linkedin, MySpace and Facebook open, places take shape where we can share not only information and data but also our history and everyday life, we find again iconic objects of our recent past such as the Kindle, the BlackBerry Quark or the first iPhone.

Finally, we arrive at the era of the Game, the years in which we are living, where everything runs fast and the distance between man and machine is increasingly reduced, where technology can solve small daily problems and reality offers us an “augmented humanity.” A fully connected life, where there is no longer a distinction between the real and digital worlds, where Apps such as Netflix, WhatsApp, Uber, iCloud or TikTok manage a good part of our day; while apps, augmented and virtual reality, voice assistants interact, perform tasks and converse with humans but are only the preview of a new horizon yet to be discovered: artificial intelligence.

An extensive body of technological tools, graphics, newspaper articles, illustrations, and a detailed timeline lead us to learn about the protagonists of this change, the key steps that caused it, and help us reflect on the revolution that has taken place over the past four decades, both regarding everyday objects and in the society that created and made them indispensable. A video installation by creative studio TWOSHOT animates three tables on which the most iconic pieces from different eras are placed, making the central space of the exhibition immersive, animating the technological products and amplifying the connections between them. A touch screen allows visitors to navigate through an important selection of articles and front pages from the Corriere della Sera archive that relate technological evolution to major events in recent history.

The exhibition, set up by Andrea Vaccari of A7Design, also features portraits of the Game ’s protagonist characters reworked by artist Alessandro D’Aquila. One experiences the Game through two paths that weave the history of the Museum of Electrical Technology: the Master Route extends throughout the museum, traces the history of electricity - from Volta ’s battery to the Eta Beta II nuclear fusion generator - and narrates the inventions that brought us to theEpoch of the Game; the Explorer Route, on the other hand, introduces you directly to the Game Room and to the story of the digital revolution, giving you the opportunity at a later time to move freely around the museum and delve into the topics that interest you most. It is also possible to be guided by the Connections represented by objects from the museum collection that unite the history of electricity with that of the Game. These elements are reread through the eyes of those who “live” in the digital world: the telegraph represents the first dematerialization of communication, the turbines tell the availability of electricity for all, the different telephones the evolution towards a fast and mass connection.

A number of workshops enrich the event: Smonting proposes the disassembly of old computers to understand their operation through play, Enigma Machine explores the mysterious world of ciphers, others deal with the themes of electricity and Cyber Bullying.

The workshops and tours are organized with the collaboration of ADMaiora, Ondivaghiamo and comPVter.

For all information, you can visit the official website of the Museum of Electrical Technology.

An exhibition in Pavia on electricity and the digital revolution inspired by Alessandro Baricco's book

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.