At the dawn of the twentieth century, Geneva was the birthplace of numerous studies into (para)normal psychology and altered states of consciousness, on the fringes of purely rational interpretations of subjectivity and artistic modernity. At a time when the metaverse revolution and augmented reality are shaking up our perceptions, these are questions that were already being asked by the archaeologist Waldemar Deonna, who directed Geneva's Museum of Art and History from 1922 to 1951.
With Archéologie des fluides, the MAH wanted to draw inspiration from his original thinking on the power of works of art to transport us, even virtually, through the ages: auras and halos, the magnetism of objects and the reanimation of images from the past, the hypnosis of the gaze and the ecstasy of the senses.
To tell this story of fascination, the MAH has invited art historian Pascal Rousseau to explore the power of works of art and their ability to captivate our attention. With the help of American artist Tony Oursler and his fascinating archives on the visual imaginations of hypnotism, he invites us to rediscover the Museum's collection from a new angle that highlights our relationship with objects and their hold on our gaze. What is it about a work of art or any other object that fascinates us? Can we travel through the time and space that separate us from their more or less distant origins?
