What is more frustrating than an exhibition with swords behind glass? My exhibition about European Martial Arts at the Castle of Morges in Switzerland has been extended until January 2021!
An interactive exhibition where everything is about the body and the embodied knowledge, in connection to European martial arts. All weapons displayed are installed without glass on a life-size mannequin reproducing a documented combat technique from a fight book. The exhibition since its beginning also offers an interesting accompanying program. In partnership with the Swiss Federation for Historical European Martial Arts, each first Saturday of the month, a new martial discipline is presented to the public by expert sword fighters, in addition to hands on workshops for kids and ‘older’ kids.
In this exhibition, the visitor can handle replicas of different weapons; try out to wear a vest which is the same weight as a plate armour and compare it with the same load on a backpack (you’ll be surprised about the feeling if you have not tried it out); or read fight books and other books about fighting. Thanks to the partnership with Caino Swords, the latest two-handed sword for combat sport practice can be viewed and handled as well.
But, the most interesting news here is about the new interactive installations allowing the visitors (kids and adults) to try out sword fighting technique! In partnership with Anthony Rischard (the director of Black Armoury), we have designed these standalone installations, pushing back the limits of the level of interaction while keeping the user and the other visitors safe.
One installation is about experiencing the guard positions. The visitor can reproduce the four basic guard positions of a Germanic martial tradition of the late Middle Ages, based on simple instructions. For those who want more, they can refer to the advanced instruction booklet and try out 7 more guards from Joachim Meyer’s fight book, printed in Strasburg in 1570.
The second installation is about experiencing the sword blows. Thanks to an innovative sword object reproducing the correct weight and replicating the mechanical behaviour of the original sword – but without the full length of the blade, the visitor can experience delivering sword blows. The two basic techniques are from the same source material as above, and the five advanced strikes are taken from a manuscript of the fifteenth century commenting on the five “master strikes” of the same martial tradition.
We are proud of these new installations, which resulted from a research work for my recent certification as a museologist (ICOM Switzerland). I analysed twelve interactive installations observed in the last ten years in temporary or permanent exhibitions (both digital and mechanical). All the choices driving the current design resulted from weaknesses or limits found on the other installations. The know-how and experience of Anthony were crucial for the design and production and Gabriel Tardio greatly supported us with the interpretation process and the documentation (instruction photos). I am curious to find out more about the use of these new installations and how the public will experience it. If you have the chance, come to Morges and drop me a line to give me your opinion!
Check out the website of the exhibition (in French. The exhibition texts are in English and French), where you will find information about the accompanying program, the exhibition catalogue, and where you can access some of the multimedia material displayed in the exhibition.