Multimedia 3D exhibition brings alive ancient city
154 views · Published 24 November 2018 · 5:34 · Indexed 23 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(19 Nov 2018) LEADIN A vast panorama depicting the ancient Greek city of Pergamon has opened in Berlin. The 30-metre high installation lets visitors experience life in the city in the year 129 A.D. STORYLINE Welcome to the ancient city of Pergamon. The year is 129 A.D and the Greek city is currently under the rule of Roman Emperor Hadrian. People are drinking wine, selling vegetables, and going about their daily business. The installation was created by the German-Austrian artist Yadegar Asisi who says the idea is to give guests a real understanding of what life was like in Pergamon. "With these pictures, we are able to really explain Greek society. We can show the things that really happened in ancient Greece. How society worked and how they were organised." The lights on the panorama change to simulate time passing during the day. At night, the panorama becomes quiet and dark while at daybreak you can hear the sounds of people waking up and starting their daily routines. Asisi has been creating panorama installations for almost two decades. Currently eleven of his panoramas are on display across Germany and France, covering everything from life behind the Berlin Wall to animals in the Amazon jungle. He says the public reaction to his work shows that the installations suit modern day visitors. "The reactions that I have witnessed in the last 20 years really confirms to me that this medium is perfect for our time. Even though the picture is still, people stay for hours to watch it. That's because they become the narrator themselves. They become the director of their own scenes. And I think that suits our time - full of pictures and full of energy that is constantly projected on us and that we can't deal with anymore. But here it's really about the stories that you decide to tell." The panorama is made from over 3100 square meters of pictures. It includes photographs, paintings and graphics showing the famous temple of Athena, the temple of Dionysus, the Pergamon Altar and theatre. Asisi says he worked with scientists from the Pergamon museum to develop the concept. "The best scientists in the field worked in the group and we were discussing a lot of things. And when there were questions they couldn't answer, they gave me the responsibility of filling in the blanks. "And there are a lot of blanks. And then I think the artists have an important role to fill." The Pergamon museum itself is currently undergoing a major renovation. Currently, half of it is closed, including the full-scale Pergamon altar, considered to be one of the most famous displays of ancient Greek archaeological artifacts in the world. The Panorama installation includes 80 original objects, such as marble statues, from the museum's collection. Deputy director of Berlin's "Collection of Classical Antiquities", Martin Maischberger, says the combination of the panoramic installation and the original artifacts creates a new way to display the Pergamon collection. "We are convinced that we need new methods to bring our collection to the public. "Of course we have here the power of the original objects. But the objects in combination with this new panorama make it easier to understand where the objects come from, what purpose they had and how they originally looked." The Pergamon Panorama opens to the public on November 17. The exhibition is scheduled to stay open until at least 2024. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/d067651079feb460228361df01cc4390
